


Lost & Found

by reveetoile



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Character Death, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Terminal Illnesses, Threesome - M/M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-06
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2019-05-03 00:20:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 22
Words: 33,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14556801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reveetoile/pseuds/reveetoile
Summary: Ohno meets Nino in hospital after Nino was in an accident with his parents. He didn't know how many lives would change now.





	1. Chapter 1

Ohno woke up when he heard the sirens outside. He groaned and rubbed his eyes tiredly. His body hurt, and he had only fallen asleep half an hour ago or something like this. Ohno carefully stood up and shuffled over to the window. The curtain was drawn to the side as he usually liked to lie there and look at the stars and moon. It showed him that there was beauty in the worst of times. 

Ohno’s eyes wandered down to the backyard where all the ambulance were stationed. Normally it was calm, but right now a lot was going on. He still could see the blinking lights of the car that arrived just seconds before. The door was thrown open, and a small boy on a stretcher was brought outside. He looked as the nurses talked to the people bringing the boy in and then following the doctors with quick steps inside again. Ohno observed the drawn faces of the medics, and he feared for what they had seen. The backyard got silent again, and Ohno climbed back into his bed. He drew the blanket over himself more as he felt slightly cold right now. 

He didn’t know how long he sat there on his bed before the door to his room opened. He had already thought about ringing the nurse and ask for more painkillers or something to help him sleep. At the same time, he wanted to be stronger than that, and the pain wasn’t as severe as he was used to. A bit more and Ohno was sure that the pain would ebb away wholly and sleep would take over once more. He just had to wait a little more. But now he blinked his eyes open again as the light fell into the room and was once more wide awake. He observed as the nurse got the second bed beside him ready for a new inhabitant. She looked up after a moment and realised that he was awake. 

“Satoshi-kun, still awake?” Nori-san asked, and he nodded mutely before clearing his throat. 

“The sirens woke me up. But I can’t sleep today it seemed. So it’s okay.” Ohno shrugged. He knew that there were more cars with sirens each night and he usually didn’t wake up by that sound. All the meds in his system made him sleepy, and he was a tight sleeper from the beginning. 

“Do you need something?” She asked, and he shook his head. He had water beside his bed and still was reluctant about getting something against the pain. 

“Okay, but tell us if you need, promise?”

“Of course,” he said with a smile and pointed at the bed beside him. “Will I have a new room partner?” he asked curiously. It was boring to be here all alone for such a long time. He knew that the doctors did that because they thought he felt better if he was alone. And it probably was even better for him, but he longed to have others to talk about. 

“Yes. A small boy was in an accident with his parents. He has to stay here for a while because of his injuries,” she explained, and he nodded worriedly. That sounded bad. 

“I’m sure that you will be able to feel comfortable here, ne? After all, you know how to find everything you might need,” Nori-san added and ruffled his hair. Ohno grinned slightly and nodded.

“Yep. After all, I’m often enough here,” he replied, and Nori-san nodded. Ohno knew that a slight look of pain crossed her face. For Ohno, it was normal to be here regularly. He knew it hurt the ones around him, but he knew that there was nothing that anybody could do. 

“You’re right. I have to go now to get everything ready. Try to get some sleep.”

Ohno nodded even if he knew that there was no way that he could fall asleep now. He laid back and let Nori-san put the blanket over him again and smooth out the hair again. 

“Good night, Satoshi-kun,” she whispered with a soft smile. 

“Good night.”

 

Ohno listened to her leaving the room and closing the door slightly again. He moved his head slightly so that he was able to watch the stars again lost in his thoughts. A hospital was a sad place, Ohno thought with a tired smile. He listened to the silence around him and thought about how good silence was. When life-threatening things happened, it was always loud, and nobody was able to sleep at those times peacefully. Right now he could only hear footsteps from the nurses now and then and even when the doctors and nurses brought the boy in they were calm and not rushed. Ohno smiled softly at that. That meant at least that he would be okay. When the door was closed again, Ohno got slowly up and went over to the second bed. 

He couldn’t help himself but be curious about this new addition in his room. The boy on the bed was pale and had unruly black hair. The lips were slightly small, and a frown was embedded into his face even now that he was sleeping. Ohno read the name on the end of the bed slowly sounding the syllables out in a whisper. Ninomiya Kazunari seemed to be quite a mouthful for such a small boy, Ohno thought with an amused smile. 

Kazunari moved on the bed and dislodged the blanket around him. Ohno felt a pang of pain in his heart when he saw the cast on his leg and arm. Ohno moved forward to put the blanket back on top of the boy and smoothed out his hair softly. He was a cute boy, Ohno thought. He waited until Kazunari was calm again and then left to get back into his bed. He listened to the soft breathes coming from Kazunari and fell slowly to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

A whimpering sound from the bed beside him woke Ohno up early in the morning. Ohno rubbed his eyes slowly. They were itchy from the lack of sleep. It took a few minutes before Ohno remembered that there was someone else besides him in the room. He turned to his side and stood up as fast as his weak legs allowed him. He stumbled over to the bed and stroke the white face of the other. It was slightly sweaty and furrowed. The other had to be in pain, Ohno realised and stretched a little to be able to reach the emergency bell at his bedside table. It would make sure that the nurses would come fast to make sure everything was okay. 

Not five minutes later the door opened, and the nurse was inside. Ohno smiled when he realised it was Yuki-san. He liked the woman since she always reminded him of his mother. She was also the only one who wouldn’t look at him with pity. 

“Satoshi-kun, what’s wrong?” she asked with a lifted eyebrow that clearly stated how unimpressed she was to see him standing barefooted in the room. 

“Good morning, Yuki-san,” he said politely and pointed at the bed. “I have a roommate since this night, and he seems to be unwell,” he explained, and she nodded. 

“Let me check on him and go back to bed,” she demanded, and Ohno did so without any complaint. She went over to the bed to check on the young boy and then nodded. “It’s only a slight fever, and I think the painkillers are wearing off. I will call a doctor. If he wakes up before that could you please look after him?” she asked, and Ohno perked up at those words. 

“Does that mean I’m allowed out of bed?” he asked, and she rolled his eyes. 

“If you wear your slippers and the cardigan then yes,” she said with a smile in the end, and he agreed silently. 

“Thank you.” Ohno watched her walking off and slid out of bed once more. He didn’t know why he was so interested in the other boy. Ohno usually liked to be on his own and in his mind. But for this boy - Ninomiya Kazunari, his mind supplied - he wanted to be sure he would be okay. Ohno sighed and carefully took one of his hands in his own. Softly he stroked the warm skin around the needle and was careful not to move it. Ohno also was surprised that nobody had visited the other yet. He was sure if he had an accident his mother would have made sure she stayed in the hospital beside his bed all night, fighting everybody if they would forbid her. And as far as Ohno knew the parents of children in that boy's age would have been allowed without problems. 

Ohno greeted the doctor when he came in and shuffled over to make enough space for the others. He watched as they changed the bottle connected with the line that led to the boy’s hand and took a blood sample before leaving with the construction to Ohno to call them as soon as the boy woke up. Ohno promised and went back to his place beside the bed. 

— 

It did take almost another hour before the boy moved once again. This time Ohno was sure it wasn’t because he was in pain but because he was finally waking up. Ohno had already be worried that something was wrong - how could one person sleep so much? The boy opened his eyes slowly and looked at the ceiling. 

Ohno’s breath hatched the moment the honey coloured eyes focused and fell on him. The boy’s eyes widened in surprise before a smile bloomed on his face. 

Ohno turned their hands very carefully and stroke the beautiful lines that decorated the other’s wrist. They were entangled in lines in blue and yellow that seemed to form a Celtic knot. Ohno carefully caressed them. 

“It can’t be,” he whispered in awe. Ninomiya moved on the bad to fall back with a groan. 

_Hurts_ , Ohno heard in the back of his mind. That word and the painful moan of the other brought Ohno out of his reverie, and he scrambled to his feet to rang for the doctors and nurses. He still stared in shock at Ninomiya and wasn’t able to utter a word. But he didn’t have to. It didn’t even take the usual five minutes for the doctors to enter the room in a hurry and Ohno was pushed to the side by gentle but persistent hands as the adult surrounded the bed to check on the other boy. 

Ohno could feel his fear in the back of his mind, but he couldn’t help the other as he was led outside by Yuki-san. Still shell-shocked he stood in front of the door and didn’t know where to go right at that moment or what to do. It couldn’t be true. He would believe that it was all a bad dream as he stared at his unmarked wrist but the presence in the back of his mind told him otherwise. How cruel could fate be?

“Satoshi?” Ohno looked up when he heard his mother’s voice, and tears appeared in his eyes as he let himself fall against the woman and hid his face against her shoulder. 

Satomi was shocked by her son's behaviour. She hadn’t seen him cry in a long time. But without asking anything, she half carried him over to the chairs to sit down as Satoshi fell apart in her arms. 

Satoshi shook in Satomi’s arms as tears of sorrow ran over his cheeks. “What’s wrong Satoshi?” she tried to ask and caressed his hair lovingly in an attempt to calm him down. 

“The one in my room, mum…” Satoshi whispered finally and looked up to meet her eyes. He flinched when he saw flashes of the accident of the other before his inner eye. 

He tried to breathe through the pain that seemed to cut him in half. “He is,” Satoshi stopped because what could he tell his mother? Ninomiya couldn’t be a part of his soul. Yes, the marks appeared on Ninomiya’s wrist, but Satoshi’s was just as it was since forever. 

“I hear his voice in my mind, mum, and I feel his emotions,” he said in the end. Satoshi felt very tired suddenly. “And he was just told that his parents died.” Satoshi closed his eyes as not to see the shocked face of his mother.

Satoshi didn’t want to face this all but all too soon the doctors left his room, and his mother forced him to stand and pushed him to the door. 

“Talk to him. He needs you now.”

Satoshi looked at her helplessly, but she only smiled encouragingly. Satoshi took a deep breath before entering the room slowly again. His eyes met the broken ones of Ninomiya, and slowly he made his way over to the bed. 

“I’m sorry for your loss,” he whispered. And even if his words were true, they seemed hollow. 

“I know,” Ninomiya whispered and tried to smile, but it looked more like a grimace right now. “What’s your name?” he asked, and Ohno moved finally over to take him into his arms. He couldn’t bear to look at him like that. 

“Ohno Satoshi, is that okay?”

Ninomiya closed his eyes and snuggled closer. He must feel drained, Satoshi thought. 

_Yes. Thank you._

Satoshi closed his eyes and put his head on top of the other. _Sleep. You need sleep to heal._

 _Your voice is beautiful_ , was Nino’s sleepy reply, and Ohno had to hide a small smile at that when he felt Nino’s body growing heavier in his arms. He still didn’t know how to explain to Nino that he didn’t share his mark and that even if Ohno were able to be beside Ninomiya until he died, Ninomiya wouldn’t be so lucky. Satoshi pressed his eyes close to erasing the picture of Ninomiya standing in front of his grave. Not now!


	3. Chapter 3

Nino woke up hours after he fell asleep in Ohno’s arms. He groaned a little as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. He was still sleepy and with a headache, but the lightheaded feeling had gone. His eyes fell on his wrist and the formed lines. Slowly he caressed them with a finger and smiled softly. The colours were beautiful. 

Of course, the sight of that knot brought back the memory of the words of the doctors. His parents died…

To be honest, Nino couldn’t remember much. They had been on their way back from a holiday near the coast. It had been already late, and Nino had fallen asleep to the soft sounds of the music coming from the radio mingled with the words of his parents. It had been a peaceful atmosphere, and he hadn’t been able to help himself. 

He didn’t know how much time had passed until he woke up again. This time nothing was peaceful anymore. He still remembered the cry of utter panic from his mother and the swear of his father when the crash happened. The window had broken, and Nino had felt the sharp edges of the glass that flew to the rear of the car and the pain that filled his head shortly after. Nino supposed he had already known then that his parents wouldn’t be able to survive that. But the grief was still there. 

He rubbed his forehead and groaned when he accidentally touched the small cuts there. “Ouch!” he cried and shook his head. 

His eyes fell on the colours again, and he smiled a bit sadly. Something wasn’t right. He could feel it, but he couldn’t put the finger on what it was. He had always thought that everything would fall into place once he met the person he was meant to be with. He had wanted to be as happy as his parents had been. 

Nino sighed and leant back. He probably was just confused over it all. It was not every day that one got to meet his other half and got told that one’s parents were dead, he supposed.

—

Ohno bowed to the nurses and left the examination room. He felt drained but also a bit happy. If everything went as planned Ohno could go home at the end of this week. He missed home.

 _At least for as long as it won’t come back,_ he thought sullen. He entered the room he now shared with the younger boy and closed it softly behind him. He didn’t want to wake him up.

“I’m already up,” Ninomiya greeted the other making Ohno look up. 

“How are you feeling?”

“Better, I think. Still confused though.”

Ohno smiled and sat down beside him on the bed. “I can believe that. It has to be a shock to hear that your parents are dead, huh?” he asked softly. _Especially for such a small boy._

Nino lifted an eyebrow when that thought reached him, and he carefully moved on the bed to find a more comfortable stance to sit. The cast on his leg was already getting on his nerves. 

“I might be small for my age but the time that people would call me ‘boy’ are long over,” he said and tilted his head to the side with a small smirk. Ohno blinked in shock at that response and watched him for a moment. 

“What?”

“I’m fifteen almost sixteen,” he explained, and Ohno’s mouth fell open. He had thought Nino would be a few years younger. Around eleven maybe. At least it wasn’t so creepy anymore that they were destined to be. 

“I’m eighteen,” Ohno mumbled, and Nino nodded in understanding. His eyes wandered over Ohno, and he grasped his arm after a moment. Ohno twitched and wanted to move back. He silently watched as Nino turned his arm around and pushed the sleeve up. 

Nino’s eyes widened in confusion. The strange feeling in his belly grew as he checked the other arm as carefully as the first one and his fingers traced the naked skin of his arm. Nino stayed silent, but Ohno could clearly see the question in his eyes when he looked up. Nino’s eyes were scarily expressive, he thought. 

He shook his head and moved his own hand to cover Nino’s mark on his wrist. 

“You don’t want to know,” he said slowly. 

“I do,” Nino objected calmly. Ohno sighed and reached out and softly caressed his cheek. His thumb caught the tear rolling down. 

“But I can’t. Not right now. You are still in pain because of your parents,” Ohno said in the end. For a moment he feared that Nino would fight him, but then acceptance filled his eyes. Ohno was surprised when with a fast move Nino changed the positions of their hands again, and he was stunned when Nino put a soft kiss on his unmarked wrist. 

“We will work it out,” Nino mumbled, and Ohno agreed with a soft smile. 

— 

They had just finished lunch when the door opened again, and Nino’s eyes got clouded over when their guest stepped in. Ohno blinked confusedly but stood up when the man came closer to them and put away their foodstuff. He had helped Nino with eating since the younger boy had had some problems because of his broken arm.

Ohno then moved to leave them alone but was stopped by Nino’s silent plea to _stay_. Ohno put the dishes on the small table beside the door and sat down beside Nino again. Nino smiled thankfully and held his hand tightly. 

The man shot them a disapproving look but decided to stay silent instead. “Kazunari-kun, I have just learnt that you had an accident.” There was a disapproving tinge to his voice, and Nino’s clasp got even tighter if that was possible. 

“I can’t understand why nobody contacted me. I had to read everything about it in the papers. And I am the one who now has to reorganise everything,” he scolded and Ohno frowned. He looked at Nino who bit his lip tightly and got paler by the minute. He didn’t know what was wrong, but he didn’t like that man’s tone. 

Before either of them could say something, the man already continued: “And they won’t tell me how long it will all take for you to heal so that I can reschedule the recitals for you. Oh, and yes, I also need a new confirmation of your legal guardian that you are allowed to continue. The one I got from your parents is now invalid. My condolences,” he explained, and Ohno glared a little.

No, he didn’t like that person. “Excuse me. I don’t think that Ninomiya-kun is in any condition to leave the hospital yet. I’m sure someone will talk to you when he is ready,” Ohno said silently, and the man frowned. 

“I was talking to Kazunari-kun.”

“He just lost his parents. And you are horrible. I don’t think you should be here,” Ohno said as calmly as he could. He wanted to protect the other as much as possible. And at least right now he could. 

“I’ll talk with my grandfather,” Nino’s voice suddenly broke the thick silence that had entered the room after Ohno’s words and Ohno looked at the boy in the bed. Nino was still very pale and didn’t seem ready for this at all. But his eyes had hardened, and he didn’t break down when the man finally left with a huff. 

The other one was incredibly strong, Ohno realised. Nino tugged at his arm, and Ohno let himself fall down beside him. 

Nino sighed and cuddled closer. “I play the piano. My father taught me,” he explained calmly, and Ohno shook his head. It was strange how comfortable Nino seemed to feel around him. They were strangers and still it felt as if they knew each other since forever. 

“And I have to say I’m not that bad at it.” Ohno watched him and smile as Nino’s eyes sparkled. There was a bit of sadness in them but also much pride and happiness. “He was always very proud, and my mother loved to listen to us play. Playing together was wonderful…” his voice broke, and he sighed. 

_But that will never happen again now…_

Ohno hugged him a bit tighter and closed his eyes as the sadness intensified. 

“Will you play for me?” he asked, and Nino looked up surprised.

“I can give you a recording…” he mumbled, but Ohno shook his head. 

“I want you to play for me when you are ready for it,” he said and caressed the cold skin of his collarbone. 

“I don’t want to do any recitals,” Nino confessed after a few minutes and Ohno nodded in understanding. 

“Then don’t.”

“He will throw a fit.”

“Maybe. But he can’t force you.”

“What if I will never play again? I don’t know if I can.” Ohno watched him silently and realised that under all the bravado Nino was also very scared of all things that happened. 

_You are so much stronger than you believe,_ Ohno answered readily and was happy when Nino’s face brightened up with an honest smile.

_Thank you, Oh-chan._

“Anytime. So now before that man can come back or we get any more unpleasant surprise, let’s call your grandfather, okay?” Nino took a deep breath and nodded. The thought of telling that old man what had happened was not easy. But he also wanted to see him.

“Okay. I think nobody has his contact details,” Nino mumbled. His parents had listed each other as contact details if anything ever happened and he, of course, his parents. Nino told Ohno the number who ruffled his hair and left the room to talk with the nurses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I don't think this is very good. I just want to get over with introductions. I hope it gets better when they get out of the hospital and all important bits are explained...


	4. Chapter 4

“Grandpa,” Nino cried out when an old man entered the room. Nino looked like he wanted to jump up and run up to his grandfather but his broken leg prevented him. That and Ohno’s hand that carefully held Nino down before he could hurt himself. When he was sure that the other boy won’t jump up and hurt himself Ohno stood and bowed down low in front of the old man. 

“It’s nice to meet you,” he mumbled in a low voice and smiled for a short moment. “I will leave you two alone to talk.” Ohno looked at Nino who had relaxed slowly and ruffled his hair. 

“Okay, thank you Oh-chan,” Nino answered and looked after him as Ohno closed the door. Nino looked at his grandfather for a moment unsure of what to say, but it didn’t take long for the old man to cross the room luckily. He hugged him tightly, and Nino hid his crying face at his shoulder. 

His grandfather caressed his hair softly and swayed them a bit from side to side. Nino closed his eyes, and it took a while until he calmed down a little. 

“Mom and dad…” Nino began with a broken voice thinking about how he should tell his grandfather, but the man shook his head and hushed him with a soft voice. 

“It’s okay. You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to. I already talked with the doctors I know what happened,” the man explained, and Nino relaxed even more. It helped to know that he didn’t have to say anything right now. 

“How are you feeling?” his grandfather asked and put some distance between them. Worried eyes looked him over, and Nino moved a little bit uncomfortable because of that look. He knew his grandfather was only concerned about him, but it felt weird to be stared at like that. 

“I broke my arm and leg,” Nino said nonetheless and moved said bodyparts a bit. His grandfather took his hand and softly stroke the fingers that poked out of the plaster. Nino smiled a bit because his grandfather had always moved his fingers when he was small. He had loved the games they played. And it had always helped him to move more comfortable on the keys of the piano.

“I got a call from the agency.” Nino grimaced at the memory of Kato-san the day before, and a deep frown settled over his face. He hadn’t thought much about what would happen now, but he knew what he had told Ohno the evening before was the truth. 

The thought of sitting in front of the piano again and playing the songs from before. 

“I don’t want to continue playing,” he confessed after a moment of silence and moved around nervously on the bed. He felt the eyes of his grandfather on him thoughtfully, but the still warm hand in his own helped him not to get too antsy. “Do I have to?”

“No of course not. Don’t worry, Kazu.” Nino looked up at him and blinked in surprise. He thought there might be a problem because of his decision or something like that. 

“Your parents always said that you can do whatever you want. If you wanted to do recitals and follow your father’s path that was fine. If you don’t do any more or want to stop it’s fine as well.”

“But what about the last recital?” Kazu asked, and his grandfather shrugged. 

“Don’t worry about that. Everybody can see that you can’t play and there are no future obligations you have to take part in.” Nino frowned because he was sure Kato had mentioned that he had to do concerts but he trusted his grandfather to know better. 

And of course, for his grandfather, it wouldn’t be a problem to pay any fine the agency wanted to force upon them without telling his grandson. The boy should only look after himself, for now, the old man thought. 

Nino fell silent and looked thoughtfully at the blanket on the bed. “Would dad be disappointed?” he asked finally in a small voice and flinched when he felt a slight hit against the back of his head. 

“He never would be disappointed with you. There always were almost no things you could do that he or your mom would disagree with. He wanted you to have a good life and fun with whatever you want to do,” Nino’s grandfather explained in a soft voice and bopped his nose once. “Don’t worry about that, okay?” Nino looked at him for a few more minutes before a smile crept over his face. He felt peace settle over his heart and leant a bit against the old man. 

“Granddad?”

“Mhm?”

“I have a confession to make.”

Silent laughter ran through the body beside him, and Nino looked up with a faint blush on his cheeks. 

“Does that have anything to do with that mark on your inner wrist?”

“Uhm, yeah.”

Nino’s grandfather tugged softly at his ear and shook his head. 

“It’s the boy from earlier, huh?” he asked, and the red on Nino’s cheek intensified a bit. Telling him the answer before the boy himself could.

“Yeah, is that bad?”

His grandfather chuckled a bit and shook his head. “Only if he hurts you.”

“I’m sure he never wants to,” Nino mumbled softly. 

“That’s good then.” His grandfather sighed and ruffled his hair lovingly before slowly moving away from Nino and standing up. 

“I’m sorry. I wanted to see you as soon as I got all the news, Kazu. But I promised to go back to talk to the doctors once more to know how you are and when you can leave. I will come back later, okay?”

“Yes, will I move in with you?” His grandfather smiled softly and nodded. 

“Of course. I won’t leave you alone,” the man promised and stood slowly to leave him alone. Nino was not really surprised when the door opened, and Ohno came in again before he could go. Ohno bowed again in front of the old man and moved to the side to let him step out. 

“You look relieved,” Ohno stated when the door closed again and came over to the bed. 

“Granddad said that anything will be okay and that I shouldn't be worried,” Nino explained and grabbed Ohno’s hand. “Help me up?” he asked, and Ohno nodded easily. He helped Nino to the bathroom and then back to the bed. 

“They will let me go home next week,” Ohno explained after a few minutes of silence and Nino looked at him with wide eyes. He wanted to ask why Ohno was even here as he seemed so fine but he didn't.

“Will I be alone then?” he asked in a sad voice, and Ohno shrugged before shaking his head. 

“I will visit you daily if they say you have to stay. If you can go home I will visit you there as well,” Ohno promised with a smile and Nino grinned happily. As long as he would meet Ohno regularly, he was okay. 

“I don’t know if I can go home like that,” Nino sighed, and Ohno ruffled his hair almost lovingly. 

“It will be fine.” Nino nodded and nibbled on his lower lip. He was worried about everything that might come from now on. But he couldn’t help it yet. It was all too confusing for him. Ohno watched Nino worriedly. Nino still looked so small an helpless like when he arrived and Ohno wasn't sure that it would be any different in the future. 

_I never would have thought to meet someone I want to protect so much as I want to protect you_ , he thought with a small chuckle making Nino blush easily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this is going downhill...


	5. Chapter 5

Nino watched as Ohno packed up with a big pout. He was happy for Ohno that he was able to go home, of course, he was. But at the same time, Nino felt sad because of that. He already felt lonely by the time Ohno had packed everything into a suitcase and sat down beside him with a soft smile. 

“Don’t look so glumly. I will come every day. I promised,” Ohno said softly and caressed his soft cheek. 

“I’m sorry,” Nino mumbled and looked at his hands that rested on the blanket. He felt terrible for wanting to make Ohno stay. Nobody wanted to stay in a hospital if they had the choice. 

Ohno forced him to look up with a hand on his chin and pressed a chaste kiss on his lips.

“Don’t be. I wished I could take you with me. But you still need a bit of time to recover. And I’m sure your grandfather wants to have you with him soon.” Nino licked his lips carefully and watched Ohno with wide eyes. Ohno’s lips were really soft. 

“I want to be with him as well,” he decided after a moment of silence. His heart was beating fast because of the kiss, but he was too embarrassed to address this now. 

“I know. Give it a few days more. The doctors said you would be able to go home when your wrist is a bit better to support you, mh? And your grandfather will need the time to prepare his home for you.” Again, Nino nodded a bit. He needed to be able to lift himself up and on the wheelchair and such a thing. 

“The others from the factory promised to help granddad,” he remembered with a smile and Ohno nodded. He knew that many people were preparing Nino’s new home and he was pleased that so many people loved his little bonded one. 

“Yep. Now come. I will bring you into the rehab room so that you can train and have the last talks with the doctors. And don’t worry. I won’t leave without saying goodbye.”

“Okay,” Nino agreed softly and let Ohno help him to climb into the wheelchair and bringing him to his lessons.

—

It was a week after Nino said goodbye to Ohno that he finally was allowed to go home. His doctors were finally happy enough with his recovery, and he was looking forward to it. He knew that he still won’t be able to be with Ohno as much as his first days in the hospital because even if Ohno promised him to again visit him as often as possible at his grandfather’s place, it wouldn’t be 24 hours for seven days a week. 

“Someone is happy,” Ohno observed with a chuckle, and Nino turned around in surprise. He hadn’t heard how the door had opened. He opened his arms wide to receive the warm hug that Ohno gave him and hid his face on his shoulder for a bit. 

“I’m allowed to go home. So, of course, I’m happy.” Nino grinned brightly when Ohno tousled his hair. 

“I’m glad. You have a nice voice.” Nino blushed a bit as he hadn’t realised that he had been humming and singing while listening to an old cassette his granddad had brought him just yesterday. It had been an old recording of his parents.

“Thank you,” Nino whispered and bit his lip. He suddenly felt depressed. Sometimes he felt as if he had forgotten what happened just to feel the blow to his stomach whenever he was reminded. Ohno caressed his cheek and kissed his forehead softly. He, of course, knew precisely which emotions were battling inside Nino. 

Nino was sad, ashamed and angry because sometimes he felt happy, peaceful and okay. “Come on. As a celebration I will treat you to an ice-cream,” Ohno said, and Nino looked up undecided for a moment.

Was that really okay? Ohno took his hand and pulled him off the bed and into the wheelchair. He didn’t want that insecureness to linger inside Nino. 

“They have chocolate and vanilla today, freshly made,” Ohno explained as he took Nino outside. It was a sunny day today, and the sun was shining warmly down on them. Nino took a deep breath once out and closed his eyes to let the warmth wash over him. It felt so good right now. The sick feeling in his stomach eased up when he managed to look at Ohno again, who was watching him patiently. 

“Wait a minute so that I can get the ice cream.” 

“Yup, thanks.” Nino’s eyes followed him inside the hospital restaurant before looking at the garden. It was really peaceful right now. The birds were singing around them, and the flowers were blooming. Nino never had realised before how much the hospital staff actually did to make the patients feel good. 

Nino looked inside again and saw Ohno talking with some staff members and laughing before motioning outside to explain that he was with him. It was strange, Nino thought, Ohno seemed to know almost everybody here. 

Sometimes Nino wanted to ask Ohno what exactly was wrong with him but something in Ohno’s eyes told him that it was not yet the time for it. He shook his head as if to dislodge that thought and smiled when Ohno came back and put his cup in front of him. 

“Thank you for the food,” Nino said and almost moaned when he had the first taste. Ohno didn’t lie. It was really delicious.

—

“Granddad!” Nino cried out happily when Ohno wheeled him back into his room and grinned when the old man came over to hug him tightly for a moment. 

Nino had always been close to his grandfather, but now that he was the last person he had of his family, he felt even closer. He was delighted that his grandfather didn’t even once think about not taking him in or something like that but had welcomed him with open arms.

“You sound as if you haven’t seen me for years, Kazunari,” his grandfather laughed softly, and he shrugged. He felt like that whenever he saw the old man. It reminded him of the excitement he felt every time his parents would take him to visit his grandparents that made him all giggly and happy and jumpy on his seat. 

“I’m just very happy to be able to go home with you today.”

“And I’m happy to have you home with me. So let’s pack everything up, and we are ready to go.”

Ohno helped him to put the last things away and carried the bag so that Nino’s grandfather would take care of the wheelchair. 

“Satoshi-kun is coming with us,” he explained, and Nino hummed in agreement. He was happy that he didn’t have to say goodbye to Ohno just yet. 

Ohno helped him into the car of his grandfather and made sure that he was all buckled in before helping to put everything in the back and finally sitting down beside Nino. Nino moved around nervously and gripped the seatbelt tightly. 

He felt sick to the stomach suddenly and had to take a few calming breaths when all the doors were shut with a loud clang. He didn’t know what was wrong right now and why his body was reacting the way he was. When the engine started, he jumped a bit surprised and almost cried out if not for Ohno’s calming presence right beside him. 

_It’s okay. Nothing will happen. I’m here with you, and I will never let something bad happen to you._ Ohno’s voice felt calm inside of the head, and a warm hand carefully unclasped his hands around the seatbelt and held them softly but firmly.

 _Oh-chan what’s wrong with me?_ Even like that, his voice seemed to belong to someone else, but Ohno watched him warmly and squeezed his hand in his. 

_Your mind remembers the accident. It’s normal, but you are safe with us._ Nino watched him with wide eyes as he thought about those words. That actually made sense. 

Ohno looked at him the whole ride, and even if Nino couldn’t wait for it to end, he was happy that he didn’t end up in tears or a panic attack. As fast as he could, he left the car with the help of the others after they arrived home and Nino hoped he would overcome this sudden fear soon. But that was a fight for another day. He felt tired right now. 

“Come I’ll bring you to bed so that you can take a nap,” his grandfather said, and Nino caught Ohno’s hand who chuckled. 

“I’m coming with you. And if it’s okay with your granddad I can call my parents to fetch me tomorrow,” Ohno offered, and Nino looked at his grandfather with begging eyes.

His grandfather snorted in amusement and ruffled his hair. “How could I deny such a request?” he answered in the end and led the boys into the room that would be Nino’s from now on.

A/N: I will do a small time-jump in the next chapter because uhm... yeah I don't know what to write otherwhise


	6. Chapter 6

Nino fell asleep soon after his head hit the soft cushion of his bed and Ohno chuckled lightly as he made sure that he was fully covered by the warm blanket so that he wouldn’t freeze. He stayed a few more moments in the small bedroom observing Nino. He had missed watching the other sleep. Nino always looked so vulnerable and peaceful. Ohno took a deep breath before leaving the room again to face Nino’s grandfather. 

The man sat at a low table with freshly made tea in front of him and two cups. Ohno sank to his knees on the second cushion and took the warm cup between his slightly cold hands. “Thank you,” he mumbled and took in the refined fragrance of the tea before taking a small sip and nodding. It tasted just as good as it smelled. 

“You are welcome. I wanted to thank you for always taking care of my grandson,” the old man said, and Ohno ducked his head a bit sheepishly. It was so easy to take care of Nino that he felt unworthy of such praise. 

“I want him to feel good. He lost so much in such a short span of time,” he answered thoughtfully and shook his head. “No child should bury their parents.”

“As should, no parent bury their child.” Ohno grimaced at the words and put the cup down as well. The tea would taste bitter if he took another sip right now and he didn’t want to taint it.

“That’s true. But sometimes there isn’t a choice,” Ohno sighed and rubbed at his wrist. He could feel the eyes of the old man on it and wanted desperately to hide it from view. Ohno had early on realised that Nino’s grandfather was different from Nino. Where Nino’s eyes seemed to be everywhere on his body but his wrist, his grandfather’s eyes seemed to only see it. The blank skin where usually there should be a mark mimicking the one on Nino’s body. 

“I was born without a mark. My parents were a bit sad that there didn’t seem to be a partner waiting for me but that in itself is not strange, so they were not worried. When I was diagnosed with leukaemia a few years prior, they were relieved somehow.” Ohno shook his head and looked at his hands. “I am in and out of the hospital since then, fighting against it. The meds seem to help every time I have a relapse but as you can see it always comes back.”

“What about a bone marrow transplantation?” Ohno looked at the worried look of the old man, and Ohno shrugged. 

“There isn’t a match so far. And I’m honestly too tired to hope for one. I met Nino, and my wrist still is blank. He isn’t my partner for life, or I’m not for him. My parents and me, we came to term with me being dead before them. I know it sounds morbid, but I decided to plan my own burial. But now with Nino in the equation, it hurts. I don’t want to leave him and see him hurt again,” Ohno mumbled and closed his eyes. He really wished he never had met Nino. At the same time, he didn’t want to miss the younger boy ever. The only thing that brought him a bit of peace was that the mark was still unfinished. There was somebody else waiting for Nino to find them. 

“I see… But you are back home, so you are okay right now?”

“Yes, I finished treatment when I met Nino. Nobody knows how long it will take for a relapse. The doctors always hope that it would last for longer this time and that by the next time they found a match.”

“What about Kazunari, when will you tell him?” Ohno closed his eyes and thought about it for a moment. He didn’t believe that Nino didn’t already know. But he knew that he should also tell him personally. It was only fair. 

“When he can walk on his own again,” he decided in the end with a small smile. He didn’t want to trap Nino if he wanted to run from the reality after being told. He looked up in surprise when the old man laughed and nodded. 

“It’s a good decision. But be warned: Kazu tends to run if there are things that he doesn’t want to accept,” he explained, and Ohno’s lips quirked to a smirk for a moment. Nino seemed to be like that. 

“Yes, but he probably will come back.” Again the man nodded and laughed. 

“Normally, yes. Drink up and then call your parents. Thank you for being so honest with me. I’m still worried about Kazu’s future, but I think I can entrust him to you. You seem to have only the best in mind for him.” 

“Thank you for your trust. I will try my best to be worthy of it,” Ohno answered with a smile and took the cup of tea between his hands again. It was slightly cool now but still drinkable. As he had thought it was more bitter now but not as bad as he had thought. When he finished, he put the cup back and stood to call his parents and tell them that he wanted to stay here with Nino for the night. They weren’t overly happy but allowed him to do so in the end.

“Ohno-kun. I need to go out check on something at the factory. I’m sorry, please be free to walk around and use whatever you want. And take care of Kazu when he wakes up.” Ohno looked up in surprise but nodded as he took in the frazzled look of the other. It seemed to be something important, or the man would never have left his grandson alone on his first day back home. 

“Of course. Please take care,” Ohno mumbled and looked after him as he left. He sighed and shuddered when he thought about how old Nino’s grandfather already was. Ohno wandered back to the bedroom of Nino and sat next to the bed. He caressed his cheek softly and swore to himself to make sure that Nino had a good future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not completely happy with this chapter, so sorry if you think it sucks. Also, be warned I don't know much about leukaemia, just the things I read online.


	7. Chapter 7

“I don’t want to go out,” Nino said with an unhappy look on his face, and Ohno sighed a little.

“The doctors said that you should take regular walks,” Ohno said patiently. Nino was finally out of his cast and allowed to walk around. In fact, he had to take walks to get used to it again after all those weeks in the wheelchair.

“But it’s so humid outside,” Nino whined. Ohno laughed and put a pair of shorts and a t-shirt on the bed beside the slim boy. 

“A change of clothes might help. Of course, it’s too hot in a sweatshirt. We will go to the park there are enough trees for you to stay in the shade. But you can’t convince me to stay here. Your begging eyes don’t work on me. You may use them successfully on your grandfather. Now come on or do you need help with changing?” Ohno grinned teasingly. 

Nino blushed an unfortunate shade of red making Ohno laugh out loud. “Go away!” Nino grumbled and threw a cushion after Ohno who took a few quick steps outside and closed the door behind him. Nino sighed before getting up and changed his clothes into the ones that Ohno pulled out of his cupboard. 

Once he was ready, Nino went to the door to step outside and smiled when he realised that Ohno was standing right beside the door waiting for him. Ohno pecked his cheek and took his hand. “Ready to go, cutie?” he asked giggling when Nino hit him slightly in the side but nodded then. 

“I don’t have a choice, do I?”

“Nope. You need to train your leg so that you’ll be able to run around again without the fear of falling down,” Ohno explained and let him through the long hallway outside. “You are lucky that your grandfather doesn’t have any stairs, but in school, there will be.”

“I know,” Nino said grudgingly. Ohno helped him efficiently down the two steps until they were on the street and off they were to the nearby park. Ohno was careful to walk in a comfortable pace for Nino who sometimes stumbled a bit when the floor was uneven. But Ohno was there to catch him before he could hurt himself. 

“Getting tired?” Ohno asked softly when he realised that Nino walked a bit funnily after a while and Nino nodded ready to apologise about being so weak. But Ohno was already putting his arm around his waist to lead him to a spot under the trees. He was directed to a bench, and Ohno carefully held him as he sat down. Nino put the leg out in front of him as it had started to cramp in the last few minutes and closed his eyes tightly against the pain. 

“You should have told me earlier,” Ohno scolded but squatted down beside him to carefully massage his leg and ankle until Nino relaxed again and leant back.

“Thank you,” he mumbled, and Ohno stood up. 

“Good. I will get you something to drink. Any wishes?” Ohno asked, and Nino squinted against the sun deep in thought about what he might want to drink. 

“Iced tea,” he asked finally. 

“Sounds good. Wait here.” Nino nodded and smiled at Ohno as the other leant down to put a small kiss on his lips. Nino was too cute for his own good, Ohno decided. He brushed the warm cheek once before moving around to fetch them their drinks. Nino was soft and pliant most of the times. Of course, still a little bit shy whenever they were close but also very demanding about hugs and small kisses like that. Ohno still needed to remind himself from time to time not to be too fast though. He chose the iced tea for Nino and a bottle of water for himself before going back. A smile appeared on his face as he watched Nino as he sat in the sun relaxing slightly. Ohno was just so glad that the big plasters were finally gone. 

“Here.”

Nino opened his eyes and blinked against the sun again before his eyes found Ohno standing beside him and took the bottle to drink from it, sighing deeply. “I hadn’t realised how thirsty I was,” he mumbled and moved to the side so that Ohno could sit down beside him. 

“No wonder. You can be very negligent about your body,” Ohno scolded, and Nino rolled his eyes. 

“I’m sorry. I don’t do it on purpose.” Ohno sighed when he realised that Nino was really getting mad at him because of his scolding and carefully put a strand of Nino’s hair behind his ear to look at him. 

“I’m sorry. I’m just too worried about you.”

“I’m not perfect,” Nino said and looked him over. Ohno nodded and closed his eyes as he pulled him closer. 

“You don’t have to be. You only have to be healthy.”

“I want you to be healthy,” Nino mumbled almost inaudibly, and Ohno bit his lips. He really should already tell Nino straight upfront. Just so that his illness was out there in the front. 

“I am as healthy as I can be,” he said instead. He promised to himself to wait until Nino would be able to walk out of him if needed. And right now he couldn’t, not really at least. Ohno knew it was just a flimsy excuse since he was scared and he wanted to lie to them both for just a little while longer if possible. 

“Hey, Oh-chan? When will school for you start?” Nino asked curiously, and Ohno laughed a little. 

“Never. I left school as soon as I could,” Ohno explained and shrugged at the shocked face of Nino trying hard not to giggle. 

“School never fit me. I was never the brightest person in the class, and I was not interested. So, as soon as I could, I decided to quit it to earn my own money.”

“Huh? What do you work at?” Nino blinked up curiously. 

“In a bakery but only part-time. I paint mostly in my free time. My art teacher said I have a talent for it and it is fun,” Ohno explained.

“Can you show me?”

“Yup, when you’ll be able to walk a longer distance. I will take you to the bakery. They have delicious pastries. And then I’ll take you to my home and show some paintings,” Ohno promised in a soft voice. 

“I’d like that,” Nino decided and grinned as he promised himself to work harder to be able to go to Ohno’s house. Not really realising that he was just baited by the older boy to try his best.


	8. Chapter 8

Ohno smiled while he waited for Nino to finish training. It was good to see the younger boy running around on the field yelling demands at his team members. Nino was so full of life that it was beautiful.

“Training is over,” their coach yelled suddenly, and Ohno tried not to flinch as it was so close to him. He stood when Nino ran over with to him and handed him his water bottle.

“I did a home run,” Nino grinned proudly and Ohno nodded. 

“Congrats,” he said and grimaced when he tried to remember which part would have been the home run. He really had no idea of baseball, and he was not the slightest bit interested in it. But Nino was so he wanted to at least show interest in his hobbies. 

“You don’t have any clue what that is, right?” Nino teased with a sparkle in his eyes and Ohno ducked his head ashamed. 

“No, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I will change, wait for me?” Nino asked and pointed to the changing rooms located close to the training grounds. Ohno shrugged, but then he nodded. Of course, he would wait the few minutes that it would take Nino to shower and change. He had already waited for him for over an hour. Ten minutes more or less wouldn’t change anything. 

“Yup, so go before you get cold,” he scolded and flipped his nose. Nino wrinkled his nose cutely at that making Ohno laugh. “Hurry I’ll wait here.” Nino agreed and then ran up to go change. 

Ohno sat back with a sigh, rubbing his forehead. He would tell Nino today. It was not perfect, and he really wanted to keep silent about everything for as long as he could. But it was unfair, and it was hard to silence everybody around him whenever Nino was close. Just so that the boy would never hear anything about him being ill or having to go to checkups at the doctor's office. He was lucky that everything was still okay and that if it held like that for a few more weeks, the first rebound phase was over. That would mean only yearly checkups at the hospital and Ohno was really looking forward to it. 

It sucked to lose blood so often for all those tests.

He was brought out of his thoughts when Nino appeared before him again. His hair was still wet, and the skin seemed to be damp as well. Ohno rolled his eyes when he realised that Nino didn’t take the time to properly dry himself. 

“You’ll get ill,” he scolded again making Nino pout. 

“You will take care of me if so,” he answered but didn’t fight Ohno when he pulled out his towel from his bag to dry his hair thoroughly. 

“I wouldn’t be so sure. I won’t be nursing you back to health if you get ill because of your own stupidity,” Ohno said but smiled when the pout became more defined. “I worry, Nino. I don’t want you to get ill.”

“I’m sorry,” Nino mumbled almost inaudible, and Ohno chuckled at that. He pressed his lips against his cute button nose before removing the towel. 

“I know, and I’m sorry for scolding you.” Nino smiled at those words and put his towel away. 

“Let’s go?” Ohno asked, and Nino followed him with a small shrug. 

“Where to?”

“There is a new small coffee shop around the corner. I thought we could try it out. The cakes look delicious,” Ohno explained as a frown found its way on Nino’s face. He didn’t like sweets that much, but he knew that Ohno loved them. And now after Ohno had watched his training for the past hour and a half, it was probably his turn to follow Ohno to some place that he would enjoy.

“Okay, but you’ll be paying,” he declared. Ohno rolled his eyes but nodded. It wasn’t as if he had anything else in mind. Also, he always ended up treating the other who either explained that Ohno had to pay since he was older or that he accidentally had forgotten his wallet when he went out. Strangely, it always reappeared in time to show his student pass for any discount there might be, Ohno thought amusedly. But Nino was cute when asking him to pay and more so when he thanked him for the treat, so Ohno really didn’t mind. Also, Ohno probably earned more money than Nino got as pocket money. 

“Yup you can choose whatever you want. To celebrate your home… ball?”

“Home run,” Nino corrected with an amused twinkle in his eyes while he nodded. “Sounds good though. I will choose the most expensive thing on the menu!” he declared. Ohno laughed, knowing full well to chose something he knew Nino loved instead so that they could change after one bite or sip. He took Nino’s small hand in his, smiling when Nino intertwined their fingers the moment their hands met and led the way to the little coffee shop.

—

Nino took a tentative sip of the coffee he had ordered and frowned. “Bitter,” he whined, and Ohno laughed out loud. He changed the coffee drink with the cold black tea and mango he ordered and leant back. 

“You don’t even like coffee,” he said with a grin. 

“But it was the most expensive. And you like coffee. How come you love sweets, but you drink coffee? It’s nasty,” Nino mumbled and drank from his tea. Much better.

“I like it,” Ohno answered with a shrug and put in a bit more milk before tasting it and adding a bit more of sugar. The unique blend of coffee from this shop was really strong. He observed Nino and changed his coffee caramel chocolate cheesecake with the fruitcake he bought. Nino pouted playfully but then tugged in. This cake was really delicious and probably way better than the one he had chosen. 

“Sometimes you are like a ridiculous small child,” Ohno mused while eating his cake. When Nino glared at him, he chuckled and caressed his cheek to remove a bit of custard. “But an adorable one.” Nino blushed and looked at his cake as to not see Ohno’s amused eyes. He was a bit ashamed of those words. 

They finished their cakes slowly, and Ohno observed Nino from time to time. Nino had relaxed after a few minutes and was now looking around with a small smile on his face. It seemed as if he was enjoying himself Ohno thought. They finished their drinks, and Ohno stood to pay for their snacks before leaving again with Nino. He didn’t know where to talk to him, and it was making him anxious. 

In the end, Ohno brought Nino to the park and sat down with him. Nino observed him silently and tilted his head a bit. “What’s wrong?” he asked in the end. Ohno groaned but forced himself to meet Nino’s eyes.

“I have to tell you something.” 

Nino sucked in his breath harshly and looked at him with a bit panicked eyes. Somehow he knew what this was about and he just wanted to run away. Ohno held his hand and kissed the inside softly. He couldn’t help himself but want to keep a hold of Nino.

 _Please don’t run away. I need to get this out._ Nino looked at him with wide eyes and tried to regulate his breathing. He didn’t want to panic right now. Nino knew how vital it was to Ohno. He could feel it deep inside of him. 

_I’ll try,_ he promised in the end. Ohno smiled sadly and put another kiss on the inside of his wrist this time. Caressing the mark with his lips before tracing it with his finger. Nino felt goosebumps spreading over his body at that. _Oh-chan, please._

“Sorry. But you are irresistible,” Ohno joked before tugging him close and putting his arms around him. 

“Sap.”

Ohno chuckled before kissing his forehead once more. “So the big revelation…” Ohno stopped and groaned. He hadn’t thought it to be so hard, but it was probably his own fault for trying to dodge this topic every time they were together. It just made it bigger and harder than it had to be. 

“Please be serious,” Nino scolded and looked him into the eyes. “For me. To be sure you are honest. That there isn’t any lie.”

Ohno nodded and held his hands in his own. It was the hold he needed, and he hoped that it was enough strength for Nino at the same time. “You already know that I don’t have a soul bond mark. Even if you want to ignore it. So to say I was shocked that you were my soul bond is an understatement. But I care for you a lot. That’s why all this is very hard for me. But I was diagnosed with chronical leukaemia when I was younger. I am in and out of the hospital since then getting treatments that help more or less. Right now the doctors are positive that they have it under control. My blood tests are good so far,” he explained. 

Nino looked at him with wide eyes. He wasn’t as shocked as he probably should be. He had already known something like that would have been the problem. It still hurt to be told such a thing. He blinked surprised when he felt the warm hand on his cheek that caught the tears running down his face. He hadn’t even realised that he was crying before. 

“I’m sorry,” Ohno whispered. 

“But if it’s under control there is a chance that it won’t end with your death?” he asked in an almost whisper. Ohno closed his eyes and pulled him close. 

“It doesn’t. But the possibility is there. And I learnt it’s easier to accept that fate than to deny it.”

“But you’ll fight?” Nino asked in a small voice. Ohno smiled and pressed his lips against his. 

“For as long as I manage. I can’t promise you to win, though,” Ohno added, and Nino blinked with tears still clinging to his eyelashes. But his voice was steady when he talked.

“That’s enough then. The promise not to give up,” Nino whispered and leant against Ohno. Ohno felt himself relaxing slowly. He was just happy that Nino wasn’t too upset and didn’t run away yet.

“You are stupid by the way.” Ohno looked up with a confused frown on his face. “That you would think I would leave you or run away just because of that.”

“It’s not something small.”

“True but I’m not that selfish.”

“I didn’t think you were, but you seem to run away from problems rather than to face them.”

Nino looked at their hands and nodded. He was. “But still. I would never leave you.”

Ohno smiled and took his face between his hands to kiss him. Nino spluttered a bit in surprise but soon moulded himself against the other and responded to the kiss. He felt as if there were thousands of butterflies fluttering around his belly right now.

— 

“Will we meet the other person soon?” Nino asked after a while of silence looking at his unfinished mark tracing it with his fingertip. He smiled when Ohno’s finger found its way to it as well. 

“I really hope so. It will put my mind to ease to know you won’t be alone,” Ohno mumbled and winced when an elbow found its way to his stomach. 

“I have you. And you don’t know if he has a deathly disease as well,” Nino mumbled with a roll of his eyes.

“Nobody is that unlucky,” Ohno chided and hugged him close. “And of course you have me, and your grandfather and my parents who are very much in love with you but you are still young and will have a long life.”

Nino sighed bu settled against him to close his eyes halfway. “When it brings you peace.”

“It really does.”

“Okay then…” _I’m sleepy, Oh-chan._

_Want to head home?_

_Only if you stay._

_I’ll ring my parents at yours. It shouldn’t be a problem._

“Good…”

“Come on then before you fall asleep on my lap.”

“It’s a very comfortable lap.”

“I bet, still the bench is uncomfortable. You can lie in my lap on your very comfy sofa.”

Nino giggled but stood after a bit of prodding and took Ohno’s hand to lead him to their home.


	9. Chapter 9

Nino looked around with wide eyes as he entered the small shack in the garden of the Ohno family home for the first time. It once had stored different bits of old furniture and tools. But when Ohno’s parents realised Ohno’s passion for art and making things they had changed it entirely while he was in hospital one time. Now it was bright because of the many windows, and it would have been full of big empty spaces if not for all the canvasses around the walls and little figurines here and there.

“You said you do a bit of art,” Nino accused him when he turned around after he had looked at everything for a few moments. 

“It is just a hobby.”

“Hobby my ass. Then playing the piano is only a hobby for me… Or was,” Nino mumbled feeling sick to the stomach at thinking about the big piano his grandfather had brought over from his old home. He had cried when he had seen it and then hid in his room for the rest of the day. He probably still would be there if not for Ohno telling him he could come to his home if he wanted.

And of course, he had wanted. He hadn’t been here before because usually Ohno would visit him or they would meet after school. This was amazing he thought as he moved around and looked at the different paintings. He couldn’t believe that Ohno was so talented.

“I’m sure you’ll play again soon you just have to give yourself time,” Ohno said easily and caught him around his waist. “But I didn’t bring you over to make you sad.”

“No you did so that you could show off,” Nino teased still being amazed about all the stuff inside. He was sure he would need days to look at everything and even longer if he wanted to look at all the details inside. 

Nino laughed in a high voice when Ohno bit his shoulder at that moment and looked at him with wide eyes. “You bit me!”

“You were making fun of me.”

“No, I wasn’t. This is amazing. You are amazing. I can’t believe that you make so many things and you call this something you make in your free time. Some artists make worse things, and they get paid a lot!” Nino looked at Ohno who smiled and kissed his cheek.

“I make pictures for the children ward at the hospital,” he said, and Nino nodded now that he thought about it there were pictures on the hall that looked similar in style. But they were all bright. Here there were a few solemn looking pictures in the mix as well. Also, it seemed like Ohno did prefer drawing more than painting.

“Yup. I remember. The pictures are nice,” Nino said and smiled. He couldn’t say much about them because he didn’t care so much about them to be honest. Nino had been more occupied by his own problems. But he could imagine other people looking at them with a smile. 

“Thank you,” Ohno smirked at him as if knowing full well how much Nino could remember of them (or how little, to be honest). Nino blushed a bit and concentrated back on the big seahorse in front of him. “I was contacted by an agent earlier this week. They did a charity event for the hospital, and they saw the pictures. They wanted to know if I had more and if I would be willing to do an exhibition.”

Nino turned around and looked at him with shock written clearly in his eyes. “You totally should. People would love these,” he said. Ohno caressed his cheek softly with a finger and shrugged slightly. 

“I don’t know yet. I really just do it in my free time because I like it. I don’t know if I should.” Nino hummed and looked around. 

“If you want my honest opinion: I think you should. Your art is great. I think you would make many people happy with them and if you decide to sell them, you would have more space to do new things.” Nino smiled and hugged him close. “But in the end, it is your decision. If you want to keep them for yourself or not.”

Ohno shrugged and looked around. He never thought about selling them. But Nino was right, and the thought about making others happy with them was good. It felt good at least. And he could save the money to make sure they were financially stable later. 

“Would your grandfather be okay to check on the agent?” he asked in the end. He didn’t know how to handle such persons, neither did their parents. And he didn’t want to make a bad deal. Nino laughed and nodded. 

“I think he would be okay. He is hard headed and will make sure you have the best deal,” Nino agreed and stood on his tip-toes to press a small, shy kiss to his warm lips. Ohno smiled softly and kissed his forehead. “May I chose one for my room?” Nino asked afterwards and looked around again. 

“No,” Ohno said, and Nino frowned unhappily at that. “I have a special picture just for you. It’s not here. Come on, let’s go to my room.” 

Nino nodded and followed Ohno as he led him to his room. He looked around curiously in the house and then sat on Ohno’s bed in the middle of the room when Ohno pushed him down onto it. He smiled and observed the room silently while Ohno went to his desk to look through the drawers.

He looked up when Ohno approached him and handed over a sketchbook. “It’s not as big as the canvas. I’m sorry.” Nino shook his head in answer.

“Don’t worry,” he mumbled and opened the sketchbook when Ohno told him to do so. He was surprised to see pictures of himself in the hospital, in the wheelchair and at home with his grandfather. Then him outside in places Nino recognised he visited with Ohno and him playing games. A shy smile spread over his face as he looked at himself how Ohno saw him. He still didn’t know what he should do with those pictures, but they were beautiful. 

“Obsessed much?” he tried to tease. But his voice was heavy with emotion when he finally reached the last few pages. It was him with his musical instruments. The ones he still used and then the piano in a great hall, two figures halfway drawn behind him. He could recognise his parents easily. “Fuck,” he whispered when he felt tears springing to his eyes. Ohno took the sketchbook carefully and tugged him close as the tears rolled over his cheeks. It was as if his yearning to play still was drawn by Ohno so easily. He loved playing in front of others with his parents just in the front row and looking os proud of him. He didn’t know if they were disappointed now that he stopped or not.

“I want my daddy and mommy,” he whispered against Ohno’s shoulder and clung tightly to the other. He missed them so much. More with every day. They said it would be easier, but the opposite was true. It felt only worse, and he felt terrible to enjoy himself and to try to forget everything else. Ohno hugged him closer and pressed his lips to his temple. 

He knew how much Nino suffered because of the loss of his parents. It was clear whenever he stayed over for the night and all walls around Nino’s mind shut down the moment he fell asleep in his arms. Ohno didn’t want to pry, but the sadness was loud in Nino’s dreams as were the memories. Ohno didn’t like that Nino tried to shut them out whenever he was awake, so he had hoped to push Nino somehow, to be honest with himself. After all, it was okay to be sad and scared and everything.

“I know you want,” he whispered when the tears had slowed down and kissed the crown of his head. “And it’s not fair that they never can hug you again.” Nino nodded and bit his lips. It was unfair that they died because of another person who wasn’t careful. It was unjust that he survived all alone and it was unfair that he found his soulmate or at least one of them just to know that he was ill.

“I miss them so much,” Nino said and tried to hide in the warm embrace. 

“I know…”

“I hate the ones who were at fault of the accident.”

“Understandable.”

“And I hate them for dying and me for not,” Nino whispered while shaking in his arms.

Ohno shook his head and kissed his head again. “No, you don’t.”

“Sometimes I do. And sometimes I hate myself for being alive and being happy. I… They are dead. I miss them I am sad, but sometimes I’m not.”

“That is normal, Kazu. And they would be happy that you are happy. They don’t want you to be sad all the time. They loved you. No parent wants their child to be sad,” Ohno explained in a soft voice and took hold of his chin to look into his eyes. He pressed a kiss to his lips. “And you don’t have to feel bad if you still enjoy the things you do every day. The same with the piano. Don’t feel bad for wanting to play it. Don’t feel bad about being scared to play it. Both are normal. They are proud of you regardless of what you do. And they watch over you. I believe that for sure.”

“Why?”

“Because life would be too sad otherwise. I want to believe that our loved ones are still there looking over us. And I want to believe that we’ll be able to protect our loved ones even after death tears us apart.”

Nino looked at him for a long time unsure and curious, but in the end, he nodded slowly. He wanted to believe the same. He huddled closer to Ohno and looked at the picture again. Him playing, his parents watching over him and a happy audience. “May I have that one?”

“Of course.”

“Thank you.” Ohno shook his head and kissed him softly on the cheek before rearranging Nino on his lap so that he could sit more comfortably. Nino sighed and closed his eyes as he felt Ohno’s warmth wash over him. He felt safe and happy right now, and he hoped it would stay like that forever.


	10. Chapter 10

Nino sat on the big sofa with a blanket over his legs and hot chocolate in his hands. Ohno was seated beside him sketching lazily and cuddling up to him at his grandfathers home. Nino sighed happily and closed his eyes halfway. He was relaxed and comfortable right now. 

His grandfather came into the room and chuckled slightly at the scene that was in front of him. His grandchild and Ohno were so cute, he thought, and he was happy to see Nino like that. 

“Sorry we didn’t help,” Kazu said with a frown.

“I was the one throwing both of you out so that I could do the dishes in silence. So nothing to be sorry about. But now I can choose what to watch, deal?”

Kazu’s frown deepened at those words, but he let out a small sigh before nodding. That was only fair. He pulled the blanket a bit higher up to his chin and Ohno looked at him a bit confused. The expression cleared in understanding as soon as his grandfather chose a TV station and classical music was playing. 

Nino chanced a look at the TV and pressed closer to Ohno. Ohno put an arm around Nino and pressed his lips against his neck. Nino knew that he could just stand up and leave. His grandfather wouldn’t say anything and Ohno would go with him. He was sure of it. But he didn’t want to go. 

Nino realised, he had missed classical music so much. He had never allowed himself to even listen to the songs he used to play or that his father used to play while he was allowed to sit on his lap or beside him and to hum slowly under his breath. 

There were tears in his eyes, and he felt Ohno taking the cup of hot chocolate from his grip before pulling him closer to himself. Nino pressed his hand against his lips because he didn’t want to disturb the beautiful sounds that were coming from the TV. 

He was glad when Ohno seemed to understand what was going on in his mind - forgetting that Ohno could, in fact, read his mind - and just held him silently. 

Slowly Nino relaxed in his arms and calmed down again. His eyes wandered to the TV to watch the performance there. Ohno smiled and kissed his neck lovingly. 

Nino felt Ohno’s love for him through their bond and couldn’t help but smile a bit. He moved away from Ohno to pick up his hot chocolate again and took a small sip. Nino hummed under his breath when his favourite piece was being played and giggled when Ohno poked his side. He totally had forgotten his grandfather who now chuckled at their antics. 

“I don’t want to disturb you. But I would like to watch this?” he asked, and Nino put out his tongue at the old man.

His grandfather rolled his eyes but looked at the TV again with a hidden smile on his face. Ballet dancers were coming to the screen doing a beautiful dance, and he sighed profoundly relaxing into his old comfy chair. He loved his grandson more than anything but this was his kind of relaxing in the evening, and he had stopped watching concerts and such things because he didn’t want to put any distress on Kazu.

Now after all these weeks though, he had decided that things had to go back to normal. He hated that sad, forlorn look whenever he crossed the piano in their house. Kazu had grown up with music all around him it was a part of his personality, and he would never allow his grandson to lose himself. Not after everything else he lost already. 

— 

After the concert, Nino’s grandfather turned off the TV and stood with a soft sigh. 

“I’m off. Good night you two. Don’t be too long, okay?” he asked and tousled Nino’s hair. Nino nodded and smiled a bit. 

“Good night.” 

Ohno greeted him a good night as well and kissed Nino’s cheek before moving behind him a bit. “I will call my parents if I can sleep here,” he explained. 

Nino’s eyes brightened at that promise and nodded. “That would be wonderful,” he said happily and stood up to give him a bit of privacy and cleaned up the low table in the living room. It had gotten late, and he wanted to cuddle with Ohno in his bed now. 

Ohno put his arms around Nino’s waist after he had finished his phone call and found Nino in the kitchen and swayed him a bit in his arms. 

Nino giggled and hit his shoulder slightly. “Why are you so corny?” he asked. 

“Because I love you,” Ohno explained and kissed his shoulder. 

Nino rolled his eyes at those words. Ohno was a sentimental sap sometimes. Ohno nuzzled his cheek and kissed him again softly on the neck. 

“I really do. My parents are okay with me staying over if I’m home for lunch tomorrow. So how about we go to bed?” he asked. 

“Yes, please. I want to cuddle.”

“You make a perfect cuddly toy, Kazu,” Ohno teased nipping at his shoulder before letting go that they both could head to bed as well.

—

Nino woke early the next morning. He snuggled closer to Ohno for a moment and listened to his heartbeat. Nino closed his eyes for a moment before getting up and heading for the shower. He put on clothes checking on the still sleeping Ohno and then heading to the kitchen to go meet his grandfather. 

“I have a favour to ask,” he said after he was greeted a good morning and handed a warm cup of tea. Nino smelled the pleasant fragrance. Nobody made better tea than his grandfather he thought. 

“What favour?”

“I want some of the money from my parents will,” he declared. 

His grandfather frowned and sat down across from him. It was true that it was the money of Kazu so he didn’t really have a say into how Nino would want to spend it but he also knew that it was the money they saved so that he could go to college and later on university without having to worry. He didn’t want to take that away from Nino just because right now he thought he didn’t want to go anymore. 

“What for?”

“I want to buy something.”

“I thought so, Kazu,” the old man said slightly amused at his words. “But what do you want to buy? I know it’s your money, but you are not an adult yet, so you need to get my approval. There is not much that I would disapprove of but I’d still like to know. You have your pocket money. So if you don’t want to use that I think it’s something bigger?”

Nino nibbled at his lower lip and nodded then. “Yes. But it’s nothing stupid. I promise! But I want to make music.”

“The piano is waiting for you, Kazu?”

Nino shook his head and smiled sadly. “I can’t yet. I finally can listen to the music again but thinking about sitting on the small stool I shared with dad when I was young and then playing again makes me panic.”

“I see. Kazu… Don’t you think it would help if you talk to someone?” he asked slowly.

Nino paled at these words and held his cup a bit tighter. “I don’t want to.” 

His grandfather sighed but accepted it for the moment. “Good then… What about the money now?”

“I want to go to a music store and buy a guitar and keyboard,” he blurted out and felt his cheeks heat up. “I want to play music. But I don’t want to play the piano yet. But I want good equipment. And they will cost money,” he explained. He was slightly nervous, but he wanted to show his grandfather that he was serious. “And the books to learn how to play those instruments.”

The man was surprised, but he was silent as he thought about it all. But after a moment he nodded and tousled his head lovingly. “Okay. I should drive you to the store then?”

Nino shook his head and bit his lip hard. He still had problems travelling by car. “I want to look alone, would that be okay?”

“Of course. But please call me when you find something. I will pick you up and then we can pay for the things.”

Nino chanced a smile and nodded. “Thank you.”

“No problem. Now, how about you wake up that boyfriend of yours and I prepare breakfast before you go?”

“Yup!” Nino jumped up from his chair and ran to his room to jump onto the bed and Ohno who woke with a startled noise. Nino grinned brattily and moved forward to kiss his stunned boyfriend. “Wakey wakey! The sun is up, and grandpa is making breakfast!”

“Such a good mood so early in the morning,” Ohno groaned but hugged the smaller boy for a second before moving him to the side and heading to the bathroom with quick steps as his bladder was alarmingly full. Nino giggled and looked after him before getting up and straightening up the bed.


	11. Chapter 11

“So what are you up to?” Ohno asked with a lifted eyebrow. He watched Nino almost skipping along beside him with evident amusement in his eyes. Usually, Nino wasn’t that good with mornings. Especially if those mornings meant that Nino had to go home and he couldn’t spend a free day with him. 

“Nothing. Why do you think so?”

“Because, my dear Kazu, you are smiling almost creepily and we never were outside so fast when it meant I would go home.”

“I’m not happy because you have to go,” Nino explained with a pout, but the smile was back almost instantly. 

Ohno chuckled, shaking his head at Nino’s antics. The other was too cute. “So you are not trying to get rid of me?”

“No?” Nino stopped and turned around to look at Ohno with wide eyes. “No never. I don’t want you to go or leave me, but I still want to bring you home.”

Ohno tugged him closer and put his arms around the smaller boy. He kissed his temple and felt kind of bad because Nino looked a bit panicked. “I know. And it’s cute that you would want to bring me home. But I can sense that there is something on your mind. Is it something I should be worried about? And no, you don’t have to tell me what it is if you don’t want to. I’m not trying to pry. I just want to know that you are okay.”

“I think so. I hope so at least,” Nino said with a nod and smiled shyly. “It’s something I have to do for myself, and I want to do it alone for now.”

“That’s okay. I’m not your keeper but your boyfriend, and because of that I worry about you.”

“Mhmm… I know that. I worry about you as well.” 

Ohno smiled and kissed Nino’s forehead. He knew that Nino tended to worry a lot about him, and he really wished he could change that, but that was no easy feat. He hoped it would get less the longer he didn’t have a relapse. Nino might even forget about his illness if enough time had gone by.

“Call me if you need someone to talk, okay? And for now I think it would be best if you would head for where ever you wanted to go, and I go home alone. You don’t have to bring me home, and I won’t be mad.”

Nino looked at him for a long time to decide what he should do. He loved walking with Ohno, but right now it was like hurrying up because his mind was somewhere entirely else. He looked at Ohno who looked back just as patiently as he always was and nodded after a small moment. “Sounds good,” Nino agreed in the end. 

Ohno put his face into his hands to place a chaste kiss on his lips. “Then take care, and we’ll write to each other.”

Nino nodded and waved with a smile. He looked after Ohno for a small moment before turning to the opposite direction and walking straight to the music store he knew was in the shopping district. He stood in front of the door for a few minutes and only moved again when someone ran into his back moaning about youths nowadays always standing in the way and looking strange. 

He listened to the small bell on top of the door when he opened it with a small smile. It was a short sequence that he came to enjoy when he visited the store with his parents. He was happy that the clerk wasn’t behind the register today and turned around fast to look at the different instruments. His heart was beating fast, and he wasn’t so sure of himself anymore. Perhaps this was a very very stupid idea after all.

Nino was about to turn around and leave again when he was suddenly face to face with the owner. He cried out in surprise and jumped back a little almost falling flat on his bum if the man didn’t catch his hand to hold him up.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to spook you. But I called out for you a few times, but you didn’t seem to hear me,” the man said. 

Nino closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The voice of the other was warm and soft, and it did a lot to calm him down. After the man was sure that he was safely standing on his feet again, he let go of his hand. 

“It’s has been a while since you visited Ninomiya-kun.”

“I… Me…” Nino stopped talking trying to regain something like a brain to speak normally. 

“I can understand. I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you,” Nino whispered and felt like he was going to be sick. He knew people were sorry for him that he lost his parents. But most just said it like they didn’t really mean it. This man sounded like he was really sad and it helped strangely. “Me too.”

“I won’t lie and tell you I understand, but I think I can imagine. May I invite you for a cup of tea in the back. You seem kind of startled, and I worry that you will collapse the moment you leave.”

Nino stayed silent for a moment but he then he agreed. The man brought him to the back and allowed Nino to sit on one of the small chairs. He prepared the tea in silence, offering it to him. Nino took it thankfully and drank a bit of the bitter tea. He looked at the tea leaves still left in the cup and felt his nerves unravelling slowly.

“May I ask why you came to visit so suddenly?”

“I wanted to look for instruments. I wanted to try to make music again, but I can’t play anymore…”

“I have been looking for your next concert, but I can understand that you don’t want to hold them anymore. It had to be a shock.”

Nino smiled thankfully. It had been the first time that anybody had understood so easily. 

“So you want to try other instruments? There are a lot of different things that could be fun for you to try.”

“I thought so as well. Music was always a part of my life after all. I wanted to buy a guitar and a keyboard,” he said slowly. “At least I want to try them.”

“Of course. How about you try to relax a bit more, and I look at what I can offer you. You can try them here if you want as well.”

“Yes, thank you,” Nino breathed. The man nodded and left him alone to calm down his nerves and drink his tea. He trusted the man to know what was best. His father had always gone here if he wanted something. Nino could remember his father explaining to them that this shop could be trusted to find the best things for fair prices. So he was sure that whatever the owner choose for him was perfect for its purpose.

Nino didn’t need a super professional set. He needed things that would work well and that he could use for a while and on which he could learn how to use those instruments.

Nino finished the tea and looked up when the owner came back. He jumped to his feet as he realised that his hands were full and helped him to bring the instruments inside. 

“I think those are the best. Of course, we have others as well if you think they are not right,” the man explained and installed the keyboard easily on the table in front of him. “If you want to play you should invest into a stand as well really. If the keyboard stands free with a stool in front of it that you can adjust to the perfect height, it’s easier. Also if you decide to play while standing.”

“Sounds logical,” Nino mumbled and looked at the keyboard in front of him. “Can you explain it to me?” he asked and the owner nodded as he set to explain him all the settings and buttons on the keyboard. 

Nino took the music book and looked over it for a moment before deciding on a song to try. The sound was completely different to what he was used to, and even if he could move his fingers expertly, it didn’t remind him too much of what he used to do. That it was precisely what he needed to learn and make music. 

“You can connect it to your computer and mix up different sounds to make complete songs. That’s why I brought you an electric guitar as well.”

“I see,” Nino said in understanding and smiled as he took the guitar. 

“And I would recommend you to get an acoustic one as well because they sound completely different.”

“Sounds good. Are there any books you would recommend? I never used those instruments after all.”

“Of course. Do you want a little bit more of tea?”

“Yes, please.” Nino felt immensely better now that he had already decided on what he wanted to have. His heart felt lighter suddenly and so while he waited for the owner for the learning books he took a sip of his tea. Then he began to play the song again that he chose earlier. Making his own music sounded exciting, he thought. 

“May I use your phone or am I allowed to call my grandfather?” he asked and peered through the curtain that separated the back from the front. 

“Of course. Use the phone on the back.”

“Thank you.” Nino disappeared again and dialled the number from his grandfather to ask him to come here and fetch him. He explained that he was in the back so that he wouldn’t be worried when he arrived at the shop. Back in his seat he drank his tea and looked through the books he got.


	12. Chapter 12

It had taken a few weeks for Nino to feel completely comfortable with the thought of playing his new instruments regularly. It had been easier for him to take the guitar in his hand beginning to strum a few chords and trying his best not to burst out into tears at the thought of making some music again. After he had managed to play for longer than five minutes without crying he had started studying the guitar in earnest. It was a beautiful instrument, he thought. Not the same as the grand piano he used to play, but it was somehow a bit more… something. He couldn’t explain it. 

He had more freedom with the songs he wanted to play. There seemed to be more songs he could play with the guitar than with the piano, and he had fun trying out different kinds of songs and genres. As the shop owner had told Nino, it was different to play the electric guitar and the acoustic guitar, and he learnt to appreciate both of them.

The electric keyboard got longer to get used to. It reminded Nino a lot of the piano and of his father and the recitals he used to play. But slowly he got over his fear of that instrument. 

He had read the instruction book thoroughly before trying out the first chords on that instrument. He had been cautious as not to choose any sound that reminded him of the piano and that had been easier. It had also been fun to try out all the musical instruments he could imitate on the electric keyboard and playing different kinds of songs. 

Again, it had a wider range than a grand piano because of the different types of sounds he could set up, and that made it almost more fun. Nino found himself looking over at the piano more often now. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to play it just yet. But he had come to peace with himself at the same time. Of course, there was still a hole in his heart whenever he thought about the piano, but it was smaller now that he filled his life with music again. He knew that it had been a good idea to start up new instruments and he was happy that his grandfather had allowed him to try out those instruments so easily. The old man was perfect.

— jump to a different day —

Nino sighed as he let himself fall on the bench at the baseball field. He took a deep breath, his eyes never leaving the field. He had just come back from there, hoping for a small break in between innings. He just was very nervous about the score. They were in a bit of a pinch, and Nino didn’t want to lose their winning streak of the last few games. 

“Here,” a voice said from his left breaking him out of his thoughts. He looked to the side and was met with bright eyes, a small longish face and teeth as well as eyebrows too big for his face. It took a moment before he remembered that this was one of their newcomers - a first year that moved in the middle of the school year to the area where Nino lived. The boy held a bottle of water into his face, pulling Nino out of his stupor. 

“Ah, thank you.” Nino took the water bottle carefully and took a big sip. He hadn’t realised how parched he was right now. He let himself fall back against the wall behind their bench and emptied the bottle in small, cautious sips. He didn’t want to upset his stomach with too much cold water at once. “You are new, right?”

The boy next to him jumped a bit, making Nino smile. The other seemed to be very cute somehow. “Yes, my family just moved here. Dad was offered a better-payed job, and the school district is better than our old one. I’m Matsumoto Jun,” he answered and bowed as well as he managed in the small space they were in. “The coach was so kind to allow me to start training with you even if it’s in the middle of the season.”

“I see. Did you play at your old school?”

“Yes, but our team wasn’t as good as this team,” Jun explained with red cheeks. “I don’t know if I’m good enough to play yet.”

“That’s what the training is for. We all get better the more we train.” 

Jun nodded at his explanation and looked at him with wide eyes, seemingly very happy that Nino even talked with him.

Nino grinned softly at that thought. It always was a bit hard to find friends at new schools. Nino thought it might even be harder if one transferred in the middle of the year.

“I will do my best,” Jun almost promised him with a wide grin. 

Nino laughed and ruffled Jun’s hair. Really too cute for words. Nino winced when his wrist burnt suddenly at that touch and looked at the boy with wide eyes. A look that was mimicked by the other one beside him.


	13. Chapter 13

Nino grabbed Jun’s arm rather roughly, but he was too surprised to think of what he was doing. He didn’t realise that their trainer was looking at them a little bit, but he couldn’t care right now. Jun’s eyes were still wide, but Nino just didn’t care. He rolled up the long sleeves of his uniform to reveal his wrist. It was as he knew it only in different colours. 

There on Jun’s left wrist, he could see the Celtic knot that was on his own. But instead of the blue swirls, Jun had purple ones intertwined with the yellow. For a moment Nino marvelled in the thought that he now knew which colour represented him, but that was not that important right now. 

“It’s broken?” Jun asked in a small voice, and Nino blinked in confusion. 

“What?” he asked and looked up to see Jun looking at his wrist in something akin to fear. 

“No,” Nino mumbled and rolled up his own sleeve to show it to Jun. “Mine is the same, look? Just I met Oh-chan already.”

“Oh-chan?”

“Uhn, I have two soul mates. You do as well. I’m sure it’s Oh-chan you’ll meet him after the game ends. He is in the stands watching, or sleeping.” Nino chuckled when he probed Ohno’s mind and found it blank. He looked back at Jun who still had a lost look on his face. 

“But…” he began, but their trainer got up beside them, hitting Nino softly on the shoulder.

“Your turn,” he explained. 

Nino rolled his eyes but got up to get back to the field. The game would end soon. He looked at Jun prepared to send him a _sorry_ and _we’ll talk later_ when he realised that he couldn’t.

With Ohno, it had been so easy to talk between their minds. Ohno’s presence a steady thing inside his own unconscious but Jun was nowhere there. Perhaps their link was broken, after all, Nino thought in confusion as he tried to concentrate on the game and prayed that it was over soon. Ohno probably knew what was wrong, at least Nino hoped so.

—

The game ended soon after luckily and Nino waved away any invitations for after parties as he grabbed Jun’s hand to tug him behind himself. He was confused and worried an emotion that was mimicked by Jun. He couldn’t feel Jun’s worry like he could feel Ohno’s worry for him right now but it was easy to read Jun’s face. Nino was glad that he was able to do that at least. 

“What’s wrong?” Ohno asked as soon as Nino and Jun were standing in front of him and took his lover into his arms. He pressed a kiss to his forehead, making Nino smile softly. 

Nino really loved kisses from Ohno. But he knew that he was being unfair, so he carefully shrugged Ohno off to be able to bring some distance between them and tug Jun a little bit closer. The younger man had taken a few steps back nervously, and somehow it hurt Nino to saw him so small and insecure. 

“That’s Jun,” Nino explained and pointed at Jun. “And that’s Oh-chan.”

“Hello, Jun-kun,” Ohno greeted warmly.

Jun blushed and looked at his shoes fast to hide his embarrassed face while he mumbled a hasty greeting. 

Nino rolled his eyes when he realised that all explanation would have to be done by him. He frowned and took Ohno’s hand in his own. He played with his fingers while his eyes landed at the unmarked wrist. It was just like the very first day they met, and it hurt to think that Ohno really didn’t have their soul mark on his body. It could be somewhere else. Perhaps something went wrong and even if all bonded should have their marks on the same body part it could be different for Ohno. At least Nino liked to tell himself that little lie. But deep inside he knew that was wrong and that Ohno really hadn’t a mark. Just as he had shown him in the hospital. 

_Jun is my second bonded, our second bonded. His mark looks like mine. There is a part missing, and I’m sure you are the part._

_I see. But you are worried?_

_Yes, I… Something is wrong Oh-chan. He isn’t there._ Nino felt helpless since he couldn’t explain properly what was wrong but Ohno just nodded. It seemed that he understood Nino even without words. Nino was so thankful to have the other one, honestly. 

Ohno ruffled his hair softly and tweaked his nose softly. “Why don’t you two go and change out of your uniform and then I will treat you to a hot chocolate, and we talk. Is that okay with you Jun-kun?”

Jun felt strangely out of place while he had watched them communicating without words and felt how his heart grew heavier with each minute. Those two were just perfect for each other, and he was like an interference.

“Sounds good, ne Jun? Oh-chan knows the best places. And that cafe he takes me to has the best hot chocolate you can imagine,” he explained with a friendly smile to the younger one. 

Jun looked up, and his lips lifted to a small smile. They were both really nice to him, so he nodded and agreed to follow them. After all, he wanted to know what was wrong with him. He still couldn’t believe that it was alright. “But I have to call my mom telling her I’ll be late,” he mumbled with red cheeks. His mother would worry otherwise. He was scared that the older boys would laugh at those words, but Ohno just nodded with a bright smile. 

“You do that. I will wait here for your return, and you can tell your mom that I will make sure that you’ll be back safely when it gets late,” he promised. He didn’t know how old Jun was, but he was definitely younger than Nino and Ohno remembered too well how his mother would worry when he was out after dark alone. And since winter was approaching fast, it got dark rather early. 

“Thank you!” Jun grinned happily while Nino dragged him off to get out of his sweaty uniform. He really should make it a habit to first change into his regular clothes before running up to Ohno probably. 

—

Jun was by Nino’s side the whole time it took for them to arrive at the cafe Ohno they had mentioned and even sat down beside Nino. Ohno was still a stranger after all, and he was somewhat shy. 

Ohno chuckled at the cute behaviour. He was fortunate to be somehow destined to be with such attractive persons as bonded, he thought while watching them. He ordered cakes and the promised beverages for the younger men and observed Jun thoughtfully. 

“Nino said you are his second bonded?” he asked in a soft voice.

Jun nodded while still looking a little helplessly at the situation at hand. “But something is wrong,” he whispered. 

Ohno shook his head and wanted to answer when Nino looked up sharply at the younger boy. “Nothing is wrong! It’s just different than the books say. That doesn’t make it wrong though!” he declared a little bit louder. 

Ohno laughed because there was still a bit of cream stuck at Nino’s upper lip and he carefully wiped it away with his thumb to lick it off. “Like he said. Nothing is wrong, don’t worry.”

Jun nodded and nibbled on his lower lip. “Do you have two bonded as well?” he asked in a small voice.

Ohno shrugged a bit uncomfortable. He couldn’t answer that. After all, he didn’t have a mark that might have been left unfinished until now. Hell, he hadn’t even known that he would be bonded to one person. A shudder ran over his back when he thought about having to tell this small boy across of him that he might die young. That he had an illness that wouldn’t just disappear. He had to say to him if they were bonded. It was only fair. But Jun was even younger than Nino. He couldn’t destroy his innocence in the world like that. 

“I don’t know. We can find out if you are ready for me to touch you?” Ohno explained with a soft smile. He wouldn’t force Jun. The other boy seemed to be overwhelmed as it was and until now he had made it a point to stay away from any accidental touches. 

Nino opened his mouth to disagree with those words. He wanted to know if Jun and Ohno were bonded as well. He was so sure of it, and he needed to know to find peace. Somehow he was scared that something was really wrong. Even if he said something else to Jun right now. 

Ohno stopped him though before he could talk with a sharp glance. “It has to be overwhelming as it is ne Jun-kun? It’s all a little bit much. We can understand if you want to calm down again first. It is exciting to find your bonded ne?” he asked in a sweet voice. 

Jun nodded and thought about the offer long and hard. But then he looked up and laid his head to the side. “But I want to know. I want to know if it’s alright or if I’m really broken,” he mumbled red in the face. 

Ohno sighed and put his hand on the middle of the table. “Jun you are not broken. Please don’t think that. Even if we can’t talk through our minds. Can we talk like that? And we have mobile phones to write each other silly messages and smileys we don’t need anything else. But if it would calm your mind, I’m here.” He moved his hand so that it was palm up and just there for Jun to grab it if he wanted. 

Nino’s fingers moved a bit impatiently because really, who wouldn’t want to touch those long warm fingers? But he knew that he had to hold back right now, so he busied himself with his cake as to not occupy Ohno’s hand again. He felt the amusement in the back of his mind and tried hard to hold back as to not stick out his tongue at Ohno because of his amusement. He hated being made fun of. 

Jun hesitated for a long while, and Nino was worried about the younger boy. He suddenly felt sorry for behaving like this. He hadn’t wanted to make Jun feel so insecure, and for a moment he wished that Ohno had been the first Jun would touch.

Jun took a deep breath and then finally lifted his hand from his lap to put it hesitantly on Ohno’s offered hand. Ohno smiled and softly closed his fingers around the cold hand of the younger one and looked at him. _You should drink your chocolate before it gets completely cold. It would be a shame to miss it._

Jun’s eyes widened in surprise, and his mouth fell open as he heard that voice clear in his head and met Ohno’s warm eyes.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because Pupi said yes

“And?” Nino asked curiously and looked from one to the other. He wanted to know about what happened between the two of them, but he held himself back. He almost grabbed Jun’s hand to turn it over and look at his wrist to see if there was blue connecting the two lines. But he knew that Ohno would scold him if he did and he hated being scolded by Satoshi, so he moved to sit on his hands. 

Jun blushed in an answer and took the mug of hot chocolate between his hands to make a quick sip. 

Ohno chuckled and held out his hand for Nino who took it gratefully. “We could speak,” Ohno explained with a nod, looking at Jun who was sipping his hot chocolate slowly now. It was only lukewarm, but it was still delicious.

“May I see your mark,” Nino asked finally because he couldn’t stop himself. He blushed a little, but at least Ohno just chuckled. That meant he wasn’t mad at him, Nino supposed. And that was always good.

Jun was still red in his face, but he held out his arm for Nino to take.

Nino took it and gave his fingers a slight squeeze before turning it around. He smiled in relief when he saw the mark that was the same as his own mark and stroke it carefully. 

Jun shuddered a bit and took his hand back to hide it under his sleeve. He was still unsure about this all, and he didn’t really understand it. “Why can I hear Ohno-san’s voice but not yours?” he asked what was on his mind and Nino shrugged. 

“I don’t know. But I gave up understanding anything about this strange connection,” Nino huffed and looked at his own mark. Yes, three-way bonds weren’t that seldom, but they weren’t often either. Luckily, they were accepted around their society. Nino didn’t know if there existed any bonds with more than three people, but there could be.

Usually, all people in one bond could talk telepathically which each other so it was strange that he couldn’t do so with Jun. But often all people in a bond had the same mark, and that was already different for them. He sighed as Ohno let his one hand go and took the other one to caress his mark lovingly. 

“This guy is the strange one. So it’s no surprise. He doesn’t have a mark either, and still, he is our bonded one,” Nino explained after a small moment of confused silence from Jun’s side. 

“Why not?”

“I really don’t know. Life is strange in that way,” Ohno said thoughtfully. “But we shouldn’t think about that for now but about what we want to do now,” explained carefully. 

“What we want?” Jun asked carefully. 

“Yes, I’m sorry to say that, but right now, Jun-kun, you are a little bit young for me to be comfortable. I mean Nino is still kind of young but you…” Ohno sighed and pulled at his hair. It was strange, and he felt sorry for saying it, but Nino was still young but now being sixteen it was a bit better for his conscience, but Jun was not even fourteen. He was way too young for him. 

Jun looked down at his mug of cocoa and drank the last sip of the beverage and rubbed his lips. “I never thought about relationships yet,” he confessed while still looking down. He felt like a small kid right now, and it hurt a little bit that Ohno seemed to think so as well.

“And that’s okay. You still have a little bit of time. And Jun, please don’t feel bad about your age. In a few years it will be different, but right now you are still a child. There are things I won’t even do with Nino right now, and he is two years older than you already.”

“Urgh. Can we stop talking about that now?” Nino whined and hid his face. He was quite open with a lot of things, but he also was shy about other things and talking about relationships or things to do in them belonged clearly in the second category. 

Ohno chuckled and nodded before shrugging. “Probably. But I want Jun to know that he doesn’t need to feel bad. When I was thirteen the thought of kissing people was disgusting,” he said with a giggle. Now he liked to kiss Nino at least. “And there is one more thing Jun should know.” Ohno sighed and rubbed his eyes. He really didn’t know how to tell someone so young about his illness. But not saying anything? That was just wrong. He supposed he could wait until he had a release and tell Jun then that he had been ill for as long as he could remember but was that a fair or even reasonable thing to do? He just didn’t know. 

“What thing?” Jun asked in a soft voice. 

Ohno was brought up from his reverie and looked at Nino for a second. He squeezed his hand lovingly before letting go. He looked at the other boy again and took a deep breath. “Nino and I, we met in the hospital. He was there because he had been in an accident and had to get healthy again. I was there because I am very ill. I have leukaemia, and the doctors are doing everything to make me healthy again. But I might fall ill again in future. Right now I’m okay. The last stay in the hospital made me so that I can live almost normally.”

Jun’s eyes widened in surprise and shock at those words. 

Ohno looked at him a bit sadly and apologised softly because of the strain he had put upon the young boy. “I’m sorry for telling you. But keeping it secret felt wrong. Nino knows about that as well, and it is part of me.”

“Does that mean you will die?”

“I don’t know. Right now I’m healthy. There is always the chance of a relapse but its also possible that I will live until old age. I tend not to think about it but enjoy all the moments and things I do.”

“Yeah he is totally horrible,” Nino chirped in and stuck out his tongue when Satoshi lifted his eyebrow. “He quit school because he hated it. Now all he does is lazying around at home and draw.”

“Hey! You liked my drawings!” 

“I do. They are beautiful,” Nino agreed and grinned, “but it’s also true that you are lazy. If it weren’t for my begging, you wouldn’t come to any games.”

“True. Baseball is boring.”

“Baseball is the best sport! And Nino is great playing,” Jun cried out with bright eyes and a happy grin on his face, making Nino blush in embarrassment and Ohno laughing at them.

“So you say. But I don’t know anything about baseball. So it’s not really exciting for me. I like watching you being happy though,” Ohno explained. “So I came to enjoy watching your games, and you don’t have to beg me again. What I’d like more though would be to listen to you play finally. Your grandfather told me you started practising the guitar.”

“I did. But I’m not good yet. So I won’t play for you yet, sorry, not sorry,” Nino replied brattily.

Ohno chuckled slightly and shook his head before looking at Jun. “Are you okay?”

“It’s a bit much,” Jun said softly and looked from one to the other. 

“I can believe that. But it will get better,” Ohno promised. 

Nino nodded beside him and took his hand into his own. “And we have the time you need,” he promised. He had understood already that Jun was still young and it was too much for him all at once and he felt sorry for his over excitement. He didn’t want to lose the other now that he found him. 

“Okay, thank you.”

Ohno nodded again and then got up when he saw that they had emptied their mugs. “But for now I should send you both home. Jun-kun where do you live?” Jun and Nino got up, and Jun told the other his address.

Nino took Jun’s hand in his own as Ohno led the way out of the cafe and to Jun’s house to apologise to his parents for their tardiness. Jun waved at them as they left his mind still full with everything he learnt today.


	15. Chapter 15

In the next few weeks, Nino and Jun often met in the school breaks. Nino had gotten used to fetch Jun from their classroom, and they went outside to eat lunch and talk. It seemed to calm Jun down and get used to at least Nino. It was different for Ohno. 

Even if the older boy tried his very best to make sure that Jun got used to him, Jun was still shy in the presence of Ohno and wasn’t sure how close he could get to the oldest boy of the three. 

But Ohno was very friendly to him. He was very calm and allowed Jun to decide how close he wanted to be and how far they went. Ohno made sure to bring Jun back home every evening when they were out together and easily talked to his parents. 

Jun knew that his parents had a long talk with Ohno about their bonding mark and their bond in general. Whatever answer Ohno gave at least calmed them down, and they seemed to trust Ohno not to hurt him or Nino which Jun knew. Ohno just wanted their best, after all. 

 

Now Jun often looked forward to going home with Nino every day after practice or get something to eat with Nino and Ohno after school before going home.

But for a few days already Nino didn’t wait in for him in the locker room of the baseball team but mostly outside. As Jun was still the first year, it was his duty with the other first years to clean up the baseball field after training. The older boys were allowed to change and shower earlier.

Jun frowned as he stepped outside and found Nino outside of the school gate with a deep frown and tired eyes. 

“Nino, everything okay?” Jun asked carefully.

Nino flinched when he heard the voice behind him and moved around, relaxing once he recognised Jun. “Hey,” he grinned and took Jun’s hand in his own. “I’m good, don’t worry,” he added and swayed their hands in between them as he tugged Jun to their favourite coffee shop.

“Oh-chan is already waiting for us. He wrote me a mail earlier. And he already ordered their special menu for us,” he grinned happily.

Jun blinked in confusion about the sudden change in behaviour but decided to shrug it off.

“He already ordered?” he asked instead.

“Yup. He said that they have a special menu now and he wanted to try it out. So he ordered it trice. I hope it’s good or I will make him buy me something else,” Nino said with a frown. Ohno knew how picky he was with food so it would be Ohno’s fault, he decided.

They entered the coffee shop, and it was easy to spot Ohno at one little table, and Nino sat down beside Ohno to press his lips against his cheek. 

“Hello, what did you order?”

Ohno chuckled as he greeted Jun first before looking at Nino. “You’ll see when it arrives. I ordered water with lemon for you as well,” he said and pointed at the big water decanter filled with mint and lemon. 

“Thank you,” Jun said politely and bowed his head a bit before blushing at the soft look on Ohno’s face. He busied himself with pouring the water.

Their food came, and Nino’s eyes widened happily when he was served a hamburger steak topped with melting cheese in tomato sauce with rice on the side and a small salad. “Looks good,” he whispered happily before partaking in his meal.

Ohno chuckled and winked at Jun who was grinning amusedly. So much for getting Ohno to buy him something else. He thanked the older for the meal before starting his meal. He was hungry after, and this was way better than cake or something else. 

—

A week later Ohno and Jun met in a small coffee shop around the house of Nino’s grandfather. Nino had been excused from school today because he had fallen ill or something like that. Jun didn’t know. But he had gotten a mail early today with an apology.

“What’s wrong Jun-kun?” Ohno asked at the thoughtful look on the younger one’s face.

“Nino’s behaving strangely,” Jun finally explained with a pout.

“How so?”

Jun shrugged before sighing. “I don’t know but he doesn’t wait for me at the locker room anymore but in front of the school and then he always flinches when I call out to him or anybody, to be honest. He looks around often as well.”

“Huh? But he seems normal whenever I need him.”

Jun nodded with an unhappy frown on his face. “Yeah, when he realises I’m there he begins to laugh and smile as if nothing ever happened. But I’m neither blind nor stupid. But I don’t know what happens right after training because I can’t leave early.” He was upset about it all because he was sure something was not right, but he didn’t know what and so he couldn't do anything against it.

“We will find out what’s wrong. But now help me to choose the cake to take with us to visit Nino and his grandfather okay?”

“Okay,” Jun was still pouting a bit but pointed at different cakes that looked good. “Is it fine that we visit him?”

“Yes, I called his grandfather to ask if we can visit and he was okay with it.”

“Good,” Jun smiled and followed Ohno with the sweets in his hands. Ohno already carried two grocery bags since he had offered the old man to buy whatever he needed today. 

 

“Hey,” Ohno greeted softly as they entered Nino’s bedroom. He kissed the slightly warm forehead and tousled his hair. “How are you feeling?”

“Hot,” Nino mumbled almost sleepily as he moved a bit closer to Ohno’s body. “Mhm… you are nicely warm.”

“Aren’t you hot?”

“Mhm… and cold.”

Ohno rolled his eyes and caressed his back when he realised how sweaty the younger boy was. “You caught the flu, huh?”

Nino nodded, and Ohno sighed softly. He put a hand on his forehead and put him back to bed slowly. “Did you tell your grandfather?”

“No, he knows that I have a slight fever and agreed that I could stay home. He would worry too much and get ill if he comes inside all the time,” he mumbled.

Jun snorted and opened the window to let in fresh air. “Stupid,” he scolded to which Ohno nodded. 

“I will get some water to wash you down, and then we’ll change sheets and clothes so that you are a bit more comfortable. Jun would you go and get some medicines?” Ohno asked softly.

“Okay,” Jun agreed readily and took the money Ohno offered him to go out to buy what they might need. He was glad that Ohno told him what to do and took care of Nino. 

Ohno stood to get the water to clean Nino as promised. 

_You’ll get ill._

_No, I’m good. Don’t worry._

_I read that you have a week immune system._ Nino tried to move away a bit, but Ohno was stronger on days when he was healthy. Now he didn’t stand a chance.

“It’s fine as long as we don’t kiss and you won’t sneeze into my face,” Ohno mumbled in a calm voice and helped Nino to get rid of his shirt to wash his upper body and then help him into new things. He bundled him up so that he wouldn’t freeze while he changed his sheets and put Nino in the bed again. 

Nino felt drowsy and fell asleep almost directly again. Ohno shook his head in amusement and went to the bathroom to clean the bowl and his hands before looking for the old man. 

“Kazunari has the flu, it seems,” he said, and the man sighed. 

“I feared something like that. But he didn’t allow me to come to check on him. Saying he was okay and just needed to sleep.”

Ohno smiled and nodded. “He is stubborn, and sleep is probably really good. I just wanted to tell you.”

Ninomiya-san sighed and rubbed his face. In times like these he felt too old to be a parental guide for a teenager. “Thank you.”

“Jun-kun will get some medicines. And if you are okay with it, I would like to come by once a day at least until he feels better.”

“I wouldn’t want to bother you.”

“It’s okay. I have much free time, and I think it would calm Nino down if he knows you won’t get ill. He is scared about that.”

“But what about you?”

Ohno shrugged with a small smile. “I will be fine.”

“Then thank you. I know he will be in good hands with you.”

Jun came back shortly after with a bag filled with medicines recommended to him by the pharmacy assistant and gave them to Ohno who looked them over and took the tea Nino’s grandfather had made to feed them to Nino. And make sure that he was comfortable again.


	16. Chapter 16

It took more than a week for Nino to be entirely back to good health again. The flu had gotten to him, and it had taken way too long for Ohno’s liking to persuade Nino to visit the doctor after the fever hadn’t gone down for two days. 

Ohno sat at Nino’s desk drawing the sleeping boy and smiled as he made sure to get the bow of his nose just right. Nino was beautiful he thought. Ohno sighed and rubbed his eyes a bit. He felt tired after staying here for so long already, but he wanted to make sure that Nino was well enough to walk around before he left for home. 

He listened to the small conversations outside of this room. Nino’s grandfather had a friend over, and they were talking in low voices in the kitchen in front of this room. Ohno put his scrapbook to the side and sat on Nino’s bed when the boy moved in the sheets. 

“Hey there,” he said softly when Nino’s eyes opened sleepily and peered up to him. He smiled and stroke a few strands of hair out of his forehead to check his temperature. “How are you feeling?”

“Good… Since I finally can breathe again I feel perfect,” Nino mumbled still a bit sleepy and sat up with Ohno’s help.

“Good. Your temperature is back to normal as well, and even if you should take the pills for a few more days, you should be fine to move around freely again.”

Nino grinned happily at his words and pecked his cheek. He was glad that he could go out again. He was getting restless inside, and he still felt terrible that he made his grandfather, Ohno and Jun worry so much about him. He tucked himself at Ohno’s side who observed him and caressed his cheek. He stroke his back and let Nino relax for a bit before he heaved a sigh. 

“Will you tell me the truth if I ask you something?”

“Sure,” Nino mumbled and glanced at him thoughtfully. “Why?”

“Because I want to ask you something and I’m sure you won’t like where this conversation will be going.”

“You are scaring me, Oh-chan. Do you have to go back to the hospital?”

“Not for another two months at least. And then only for a small check-up. And I wouldn’t ask you something like that but tell you,” Ohno explained with a roll of his eyes and poked his cheek. 

“Okay, what is it?”

“It’s something Jun brought up and asked me if I could talk to you because he is worried, but he is also younger than us and doesn’t want to anger you with butting in in your business,” Ohno began slowly. 

Nino frowned deeply at that and even pouted a little, because: What the actual hell? Jun was his bond, and of course, he had the same rights as he or Ohno. He sighed a little at that thought and hoped that Jun would get more comfortable around them soon. Before he could say anything, though, Ohno silenced him with an amused smile. 

“I know that you think otherwise but let me finish.”

Nino nodded and leant back against Ohno once more.

“So Jun said that you were behaving strangely at school lately. Like not appearing to get him for your break time and not waiting for him at the locker room after training.” Ohno played with his hair as he felt Nino stiffening up beside him. “And you are a bit jumpy suddenly.”

“I thought he wouldn’t realise,” Nino mumbled and hissed when Ohno hit him softly. 

“That’s not the point here, Kazu. What’s happening? Even if Jun didn’t say so he is scared that you don’t want him.”

“That’s not it!” Nino defended himself with a pout and looked up to meet Ohno’s eyes. He liked the younger boy. He was fun to be with. So it was stupid Jun would think so.

Ohno sighed as he heard his thoughts, shaking his head. “Kazu. What would you think if suddenly I stopped coming?” he asked softly. “And flinch whenever you get close? You can’t tell me that you won’t have your doubts suddenly. It’s the same for Jun. So stop judging him you are unfair.”

“I’m sorry. You’re right,” he nodded slowly. Now that Ohno mentioned it he could understand it. 

Ohno stroke his cheek softly and then nudged his side. “So spill it, what’s happening.”

“The others don’t like me,” Nino finally mumbled and looked down once more. He sighed and rubbed his forehead. He didn’t care that much. He had often missed school because of his sort of musical career and because his parents travelled a lot when he was young and took him with them. He was tutored at home so that he won’t get bad grades, and the teachers liked him because he paid attention and seldom caused a ruckus like some other students tended to do. 

“The only good thing was baseball. I’m good, and I’ve fun there. I never was in the first team though because I wasn’t there that often. That changed when I moved in with grandpa, and now I moved up to the first team, and my trainer says I’m good. I get to play on the matches and so on.” Nino frowned and shrugged. Usually, that would mean climbing up the social ladder, but somehow it was different for him. The others were jealous. 

_They are calling me names because of the soul bond. It got worse after they found out there are two people or me. Jun is well liked in his grade… I don’t think he has the same treatment. I try to get away fast before the can get to me,_ Nino explained silently. He couldn’t say it out loud because he felt bad because of it.

Ohno hugged him tighter and sighed a bit as he pressed his lips against his head. “Did they hurt you?” he asked carefully. 

Nino shook his head and sighed. “No, they shove me around sometimes. But I’m fast, so it’s easy to get away. And they won’t do anything if the teachers are close. I’m sure that they will stop eventually. But I don’t want Jun to know, and I don’t want them to start on Jun,” he whispered and looked at him with bright eyes. 

“You are stupid, you know,” Ohno said but sighed before nodding at his begging look. “I won’t tell him, okay. But you should tell him and explain to him that it’s not because of him.”

“I will, probably…” Nino grimaced and leant against him. “I will make sure that he knows that it’s not because of him,” he promised. 

“That’s enough for now. And promise me to tell an adult if it gets worse. It has nothing to do with being weak or a telltale. If they hurt you, you need help from the outside.” 

Nino watched him for a second before nodding and moving around to sit on Ohno’s lap. 

Ohno lifted his eyebrow and held him softly around his hips. “What’s up with you?”

“I want to kiss you, may I?” Nino asked hopefully. “Like a real kiss?”

“Did we fake kisses before?” Ohno teased. 

Nino pouted and hit his shoulder softly. “No. But I want a real kiss, not just a peck,” Nino explained with a frown. “I know that you are extremely careful but pretty please?”

Ohno lifted an eyebrow and caressed his cheek. “Of course, you may kiss me,” he said, making Nino smile. 

He ducked closer and put his hands around his face. “And to calm down your conscience. I talked with Jun about everything. He says he is okay with me kissing you and you kissing me. Just because he can’t imagine that just yet,” Nino explained with a grin. 

_Good to know that you talk to him about our relationship. But don’t worry I do the same,_ Ohno answered as he closed the small distance to put his lips on Nino’s to stop his cheeky grin. Ohno always had thought that it was easier to be just open about all their worries and hopefully Nino would learn it as well soon. 

Nino shuddered in Ohno’s arms and was glad for the warm hands around his hips helping him to feel grounded. The soft, warm lips moved against his own, and a small sigh escaped Nino. Almost shyly he opened his lips when he felt the sharp sting of teeth on them. A warm tongue slipped inside, and it felt strange for a second to have another tongue inside his mouth. But Ohno was - as always - slow and accommodating. So that he soon got used to the small caresses. Ohno tasted like lemons and mint. And Nino was sure that he would get addicted to that taste. The same with Ohno’s smell. Sadly he hadn’t been able to get as close to Jun yet, and he couldn’t wait to get to know Jun as good as he did Ohno already. 

When Ohno moved back slowly with another small peck to the rosy lips, Nino opened his eyes again and licked his lips to catch the last traces of Satoshi on his lips. 

His cheeks were red, and he hid his face at his shoulder while hugging him tightly. 

Ohno hummed and caressed his back. “You taste nice,” he whispered against the red ears chuckling when Nino just pressed his face tighter against him. 

“Idiot.” 

Ohno grinned and held him close until the bell rang and they could hear Nino’s grandfather greeting Jun. Ohno ruffled his hair as Nino moved his head to the side to greet Jun with a small smile. 

Jun lifted an eyebrow and looked from one to the other. “What are you doing?”

“We were talking,” Nino said with a giggle when Jun rolled his intense eyes. He couldn’t wait for Jun to grow older. He had to become one of the most handsome men.

“Sure, nothing more happened,” Jun said dryly. 

“We didn’t say that,” Ohno said defiantly. 

Nino threw his head back at that exchange and laughed out loudly and brightly. 

Ohno grinned as he met Jun’s eyes and winked at him, making the younger boy smile contently.


	17. Chapter 17

“Are you sure you are fit enough to come back?” Jun asked in front of the school where he met with Nino. Nino shrugged and smiled softly at the younger boy. 

“Sure. I got the okay from grandpa and Oh-chan,” Nino said with a grin and tweaked Jun’s nose as he didn’t look pleased with his answer. “It’s really okay. My fever is down, and I feel lots better.”

Jun sighed but nodded in the end. There was nothing he could do after all and Nino was probably right. He knew that illnesses would go away and one could come back to school then. But still, he remembered how weak Nino had been these last weeks.

“Will we meet for lunchtime?” Jun finally asked. 

Nino frowned and looked down to the floor nibbling on his lower lip. The less they met, the safer Jun was, he thought, but he didn’t want to be unfair to him or make Jun think he didn’t like him or something silly like that. He rubbed his nose before finally nodding. “Sounds good. But I might be a little late because I need to collect my homework from the teachers,” he said finally and watched him shortly. 

Jun smiled happily before he nodded and they finally entered the school building. They changed shoes and Nino looked around once before moving closer and pecking Jun’s cheek. “Until later, Jun-kun,” he whispered and waved before running off because his classroom was on the other end of the building and he had to hurry if he didn’t want to be late. 

Jun was blushing a little after the kiss since he still wasn’t used to that. Not really at least. He felt the heat in his cheeks as he changed his shoes and went to his classroom to talk with his friends and listen to the teachers until lunch break began. 

When the lunch bell rang, he went out to the courtyard where he usually met with Nino when they hang out together for lunch or any break in their school life. It wasn’t as often as he wanted since Nino had his friends and things to do the same to Jun and they met for baseball training and usually after school after all. He sat on a bench under a tree and closed his eyes to wait for the older boy. He just hoped that Nino would appear before their break was over. He had missed him these last few days. He hadn’t visited him as often since he hadn’t wanted to put pressure on Nino to entertain him. 

Jun felt a poke to his cheek, and he opened his eyes confusedly to be met by a smirking Nino. He looked a bit tired around the eyes, but otherwise, he seemed surprisingly chipper. 

“Did you fall asleep?” Nino asked with a grin. 

“I was waiting,” he denied and made space for Nino before pulling out two bentos out of his bag and handed one over to Nino. “I made lunch,” Jun mumbled with warm cheeks. 

Nino looked at the box for a moment before a grin brightened up his face and he opened it to peek into it. It looked nice with small hamburgers, and he couldn’t wait to try it. He moved closer to Jun and leant against him to kiss him on the cheek again. “Thank you Jun-kun. It looks great,” he mumbled and observed the shy boy beside him thoughtfully. 

“Is that okay?” he asked finally.

“What is?” Jun asked in apparent confusion. 

Nino sighed and laid his head on Jun’s shoulder. “Me being close to you,” he explained slowly. “You are always so shy.” Nino was silent for a moment and tried to think of how to explain what he meant. He knew that Jun wasn’t opposed to their relationship. But he often shied away when they wanted to hug him or kiss him. Ohno seemed to be fine with it all, but Nino couldn’t cope with it. He had always been a rather cuddly type of person. 

Jun observed him silently for a second before he moved away to look at Nino. He poked his cheek and smirked slowly. “I’m not used to it. It’s all. I will tell you if I don’t like something.”

“Are you sure? You won’t just stay silent because you don’t want to disappoint us?” Nino asked and scrunched up his face. It was probably silly to ask this just now. They had talked a lot. But mostly about how Jun still was insecure and how he was okay with Ohno and Nino being closer right now without feeling left out.

“Of course. I’m fine with you hugging me or leaning on me like that. Those pecks are okay. But I would prefer if you wouldn’t run off right afterwards and no kisses like you did with Ohno the other day,” Jun said with a deep frown on his face.

Nino giggled as Jun looked adorable right now. “Okay, got it,” he promised and laughed when Jun poked him in his side and immediately encountering a ticklish spot. He squirmed a little, but Jun saved him from falling. 

“Eat now or do you need me to feed you?” he asked with a lifted eyebrow. 

Nino grinned and thought about making Jun do it, but he knew that he shouldn’t push him too far, so he finally opened the box again and took the chopsticks to begin eating. “Delicious. Thank you, Jun-kun. Much better than the stuff of the cafeteria.”

Jun smiled and ruffled Nino’s hair at his praise. He was happy for those words. 

—

“Thank you for your hard work!” the trainer said to them and Jun bowed with the rest of first years before he hurried to the changing room. He wanted to get ready fast since Nino had promised him to wait for him to go for a walk just the two of them. 

As soon as he left the schoolyard a dark look crossed his face as he spotted Nino standing there with his head lowered as there were classmates around him, using slurs on him and shoving him around. Nino looked like somebody that had just given up the fight because he knew it wouldn’t get better but worse if he tried to fight back. 

Jun wasn’t dumb. Of course not. He had known what was happening behind his back, but until now the older boys were smart enough to stop when he was close so he couldn’t do anything. 

He stood still for a small moment watching on before he was able to shake off his stupor and strode over to them in wide steps. He was so mad right now. Nino was still slightly ill after all, and they were so stupid. Behaving like that just because they were jealous. 

Nino hadn’t realised yet that he was there. He was still looking down at the floor and tried to shield himself whenever they got too rowdy. But the other boys realised that he was there when he finally found his way to Nino to stand in front of him. 

Nino looked up when the sneers stopped, and his eyes widened when he realised that Jun was here. He took his hand and tugged at it. “Jun-kun,” he whispered urgently. 

Jun looked back at him with a confident smile and squeezed his fingers softly. He wasn’t scared of them. He looked back at the others and lifted his eyebrow. 

“What do you think you are doing? We were just playing around, right Ninomiya?!” one of them asked, and Nino flinched a little. 

“Didn’t look like it,” Jun shrugged and rolled his eyes when one of them came closer to grab Nino’s hand. Jun tsked when he intervened and grabbed the wrist forcefully to yank him away.

“Ouch! What the hell?!” The bully looked at Jun with angry eyes and now tried to hit him, but instead, he was stopped by Jun. Jun growled a little before he threw him down on the floor and stared down at them with hard eyes as he took Nino’s hand in his own, pulling him closer. 

Nino stumbled, still surprised by all that was happening and landed against Jun’s back with a small noise of complaint. Jun intertwined their hands without looking at Nino and tugged him even closer to himself so that Nino could feel the heat radiating off of him.

Jun’s voice was calm and controlled as he looked at the others one after the other. “Kazu belongs to me, and if you ever hurt him again, I will find you, and I won’t be happy,” he explained and then left with Nino close by without looking back. 

Nino watched Jun’s back as he followed him silently. He could see that Jun was still angry, so he was not surprised when Jun suddenly stopped and spun around to glare at him. “Are you stupid or what? You can’t let them do whatever they want to you,” Jun almost spat, and Nino shrugged softly. 

“Why was it so easy to defend yourself?” he asked instead of answering. Jun rolled his eyes, but his angry stance lost a lot of its steam. 

“I learnt karate from a young age. My father is a teacher,” he explained with a shrug. “He won’t be happy that I hurt someone, but I couldn’t just watch them hurt you and make you hate coming to school. You could have said something!”

“I’m sorry I didn’t want to worry you,” Nino explained and squeezed Jun’s hand making him realise that he was still holding him tightly. “But you told them I belong to you,” he said with a wicked grin. He laughed when Jun blushed and hung on his arm. 

“You do, kind of, right?” Jun asked softly, and Nino smiled when Jun stepped back to take his hand in his own and push up the sleeve of his uniform to look at Nino’s mark. 

Nino smiled and nodded. “Yes.”

Jun looked up at his eyes and sighed. “And I don’t like it when people hurt you,” he mumbled. “Nobody is allowed to mess with what’s mine,” he tried to sound firm. Nino giggled as Jun couldn’t hide his red ears and tugged him along. 

“We still should have fun on our date! Thank you for rescuing me, J. I promise to tell you if I have problems again,” he said and pulled him along to the park for their walk. 

“Good,” Jun agreed and followed him happily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I need to make a time jump XD I’m lost otherwise, and there would be lots of similar strange (read bad xD) chapters like this one.


	18. Chapter 18

Nino hid in his bedroom, knees up to his chest as he buried his face behind his knees. He sighed deeply and tried to calm down his racing heart. He wasn’t sure how Ohno always managed to keep calm when he was around them. Ohno had to be some kind of saint. Something that Nino most definitely wasn’t. 

_Where have you gone? Jun-kun said you ran away suddenly after the game?_ Ohno sounded way too amused, Nino thought with a pout. 

Nino shook his head and put a hand through his hair to calm down further. He had reacted badly, he knew. But he hadn’t expected to react that way. He never had those thoughts when he was the one on the field with Jun together. But today had been the first game without him there. 

Nino was in his last year of high school now, and as they had to prepare for university entrance exams, they weren’t meant to be on the fields anymore which was fine for him. He still loved baseball very much, but over the last years, he had realised that it would be forever a hobby for him and nothing more. 

Entrance exams were much more important than staying at school until late to prepare for the next game. He wanted to get into his dream university and study music after all. 

But back to the problem at hand. He felt Ohno still prodding at him, but he did his best to close the connection on his side. He didn’t want Ohno to know of his very impure thoughts right now. 

And, oh God, did Jun look good. All sweaty from the game, breathing hard but also with that big goofy grin since their team had won. 

Nino didn’t know how he had not realised it sooner. Jun was very muscular, and he had a growth spurt just recently making him taller than Nino. But then and there, with Jun brimming with happiness because they won that critical game, still sweaty from all the things he did earlier, finding himself in his warm and strong arms and being pressed against a firm chest was overwhelming. 

Nino was embarrassed when his body reacted to the closeness, and that musky smell of Jun should have been revolting, but it was doing completely unasked things to him and his mind. 

And so the moment Jun was called by his team members and left to get changed, and for the last team meeting he had turned around instead of waiting for him like he usually would have and ran home to hide here and get over whatever happened there. He couldn’t scare Jun away like that. Also, when did Jun become sexy and more adult like? Nino really couldn’t believe that he had missed it all.

The door opened, and Nino growled a little as he looked up and saw Ohno and Jun standing in the doorway. 

“Your grandfather let us in,” Ohno explained with a wide grin and Nino really really wanted to hit him for making fun of him. He was sure that everybody would understand him. 

Nino grumbled something before hugging his legs closer to his body and hiding his face again. He didn’t want to see any of them. He was sure that his cheeks were bright red; he could even feel the heat in the tips of his ears. 

The bed dipped down on both of his sides, and he sighed annoyed when he felt Ohno poking his cheek and then his side to find the one ticklish spot that would make Nino laugh. Nino tried to get away from the prodding fingers, but that meant to get closer to Jun and honestly he was still ashamed for his body reaction to the younger one. And he couldn’t even explain why. He was used to getting all kinds of reactions around Ohno and never reacted this way. 

Ohno didn’t let up and soon found the desired spot just above his hip bone and Nino couldn’t help himself as he squirmed around and began to giggle. He hit Ohno who was faster than he was with ducking away from his fists. He let only go when Nino was lying on his bed out of breath.

“You are awful, horrible, the worst,” Nino groaned when he was able to. 

Ohno grinned from above him and lifted his hand to start again when Nino caught it. Ohno smiled and pulled him up so that they were all sitting there. 

Jun watched them with big eyes, and Nino looked down in shame when he realised that there was confusion in his eyes, but they also looked hurt. He hadn’t meant to hurt Jun. 

But of course, it would hurt anybody if one just ran away without any explanation. He was surprised that Jun came to visit. If it had been him, he probably would have hidden away forever. Indeed he was lucky to be in between both of them age wise. 

“Look who is talking,” Ohno said back but stopped when Jun hit him weakly.

“Nino isn’t awful,” he protested, making Nino smile and surge forward to hug Jun closely.

“I’m horrible. I’m sorry for running away,” he muttered against Jun’s neck. 

Jun’s arms came up around him and squeezed him for a second. Nino relaxed slowly and let go after a second. 

“Now after we made sure that we all still like each other, how about you explain why you ran away?”

“Why do you insist on being the sensible one of us?” Nino asked with a whine. 

“Because I’m the oldest. And someone has to be,” Ohno teased ignoring the roll of eyes of Jun. 

Jun still was a little bit shy around them. Mostly because he had in mind that he was the youngest one and had to respect them in some way. Something that they tried to get out of him. And Ohno was sure that they would succeed in future. He wasn’t sure if it would happen before Jun was officially an adult but as soon as that happened Ohno was sure that Jun would be the voice of reason between the three of them. 

“Did I do something wrong?” Jun’s voice ended the small quarrel and tilted his head to one side while observing Nino with his piercing eyes. 

Nino felt himself getting red again and groaned when he heard Ohno chuckle beside them.

“Oh God, you have it badly.” The oldest just couldn’t help himself. For Nino Jun seemed to have been more like a smaller brother than as a possible lover until today. And really, he shouldn’t find it so funny but God. It really was. Especially since Ohno was sure that Nino had found Jun cute and cool, to begin with. Yes, it had shifted a bit after the first weeks, but Ohno hadn’t known how much. 

“Out. Go out,” Nino grumbled as he pushed Ohno away as he was still chuckling and laughing at him. He couldn’t concentrate like that, and he wouldn’t be able to tell Jun anything like that. 

Ohno lifted his hands but left the room finally to leave them alone for the moment. He stretched on his way out feeling the eyes of the others on him and grinned as he closed the door. 

“Sexy bastard,” Nino mumbled when the door was closed. 

Jun giggled but nodded. Somehow Ohno had decided to work out a few months ago. Something to do with healthy body and healthy mind. Jun didn’t really get it. But Ohno’s leukaemia hadn’t come back yet and if this helped he was all in for it. The same with Nino even if he just sat somewhere watching Jun and Nino working out while playing a handheld game. 

“Jun, you know that you are kinda hot, right?” Nino finally blurted out when Jun had looked back at him for a while. 

Jun blushed at the sudden words but then shrugged. “Okay? And you did go away why exactly?”

Nino sighed and poked Jun’s flat stomach. Really, he hadn’t realised how buff Jun had gotten during his training with Ohno. 

He really wanted to know if he was the only one with his body reacting like that around Ohno first and now Jun. “You know what happens when you watch something you find hot or sexy, yes?” he continued with a slight pout on his face. 

He looked into Jun’s face and somehow was glad when a blush spread over his cheeks. At least Jun wasn’t so blase about it all as Ohno had been. 

“Somehow I’m glad you are not laughing,” Nino mumbled and poked him again. “Ohno laughed two years ago.”

“Sounds like him. And stop it,” Jun said catching Nino’s fingers before he could poke him again. 

“Sorry.” Nino looked up at him but then smiled sheepishly. “So unfair. Both you and Ohno look so hot and all and me? I’m nothing.”

Nino cried out in pain when Jun suddenly pinched his nose hard. 

“Hey, that hurt,” he whined as he rubbed his nose and looked up at him.

“You are stupid,” Jun scolded and then caressed his cheek in apology. “You are cute and talented. Not nothing. So don’t you dare to think that ever again,” he continued and ruffled Nino’s hair as he ducked his head.

“Scary J,” Nino mumbled but smiled when Jun ducked down to press a kiss to his cheek. 

“Now let’s call Ohno-kun. I need to ask his permission to kiss you,” Jun said cheekily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: For people wondering about the end: Of course, Jun doesn’t need to get permission from Ohno. But they all decided early on to talk about every step forward in their relationships with each other before performing it. It was the same with Nino and Ohno. They both got their okay from Jun before sharing their first deep kiss. So nobody feels left out. It will be the same if they have sex with just two of them for the first time. It’s just to make sure they all are on the same page. I hope it’s comprehensible >< sorry if it’s strange.


	19. Chapter 19

Ohno appeared as if he was summoned and Nino supposed that Jun had finally allowed him to come inside because he definitely didn’t.

“So did you talk?” Ohno asked as he settled down on Nino’s other side and offered them both a glass of cold tea.

“We talked about how stupid I am,” Nino mumbled to which Jun rolled his eyes and hit him softly on the head. 

“You are stupid right now,” Jun mumbled with slightly red cheeks when Ohno laughed at their antics then though he squared his shoulders and sat up more straightly. 

He had realised that his body did strange things around his two bonds. He still felt more comfortable around Nino than around Ohno, but that was mostly down to Ohno being a little fussy around him. He had realised when talking to his parents that Ohno might have his reasons and he didn’t want to be seen as a small boy by them. He wasn’t that naive boy from three years ago anymore, and Jun wanted to make sure the other both knew. 

Ohno’s eyes twinkled in amusement as he looked him over, but Jun didn’t want to back down now or grow shy again. Especially with Ohno. He had to make sure that Ohno knew that he only did what he wanted. 

“I wanted to kiss Nino but I can’t without telling you first and talking about it with you,” Jun explained. He put a hand over Nino’s mouth when the older spluttered and went a dark red. Why the hell was Nino still so cute? Sometimes Jun didn’t understand how growing up worked. But he liked Nino like that very much, so he didn’t complain. 

Nino settled down with burning ears, and Jun let him go, still looking at Ohno with a small smile now. 

Ohno’s eyes were soft as he looked them over. Jun wasn’t sure if he still thought them amusing or honestly liked what he was seeing. Jun probably needed to have a talk with Ohno on his own soon. After all, he wasn’t just insecure about what Nino felt about him. It was the same with Ohno. Ohno did his best to include him everywhere to give him time to show him that he belonged with them. But still, Ohno was so much closer to Nino, and Jun sometimes wasn’t sure if Ohno felt the same way about him as he felt about Nino or if he just accepted him because he knew that Nino liked - loved? - him as well. 

Jun blinked as he realised that for a moment his mind went elsewhere before he concentrated again on Nino and Ohno. Talking with Ohno would come later. Now he really wanted to kiss Nino first. 

Nino’s lips looked kissable. They were a lovely shade of red and slightly plump because he had been nibbling on his lower lip in embarrassment. His cheeks were still slightly pinkish, and his eyes were as beautiful as ever. Jun forced himself to look back at Ohno whose eyes were dancing warmly. 

Jun smiled a bit. He liked whenever Ohno watched over them warmly. 

“So may I kiss him?” Jun ended his earlier statement with a low voice. His heart was at his throat. He knew that Ohno wouldn’t deny him, but still, the fear was still slightly there. 

“Of course, you may if Nino allows. It’s his decision as well, right?” Ohno asked. 

Nino hit Ohno’s hands away when he sensed them coming close again to poke him to his side. 

“I do,” he mumbled in a small voice, still looking down. He was shy, and it wasn’t easy for him to talk about his feelings and wants so openly. Sometimes he hated that they actually had to use words to communicate such things. If it were just two of them, it would go much more naturally, or if they all could communicate through thoughts, Nino thought a but sullenly. It was always easier to tell Ohno what his thoughts were because of that. He didn’t need to put it into words out loud for Ohno to understand. It wasn’t Jun’s fault that they couldn’t communicate that way, but it would be nicer. 

Nino felt the eyes of the other two on him and looked up with a frown as he saw their poorly hidden glee in them. “What?”

“You are just too cute when you are shy like that!” Ohno cheered to which Jun nodded grinning. 

Nino’s frown deepened before he groaned. Really, what was his life? He supposed he should be lucky that both of his mates thought he was cute but did they have to tell him like that?

Ohno chuckled but then looked back at Jun. _I think you need to do the first step. Somehow Kazu is really shy when it comes to you._

Jun snorted a laugh at those words. _I think he is shy in general. You just manage to poke so much fun at him that he has to take the upper hand once in a while._

Ohno giggled but nodded. That might be true. He had always told Nino that he wouldn’t do anything without Nino being ready so he had forced Nino to take the first initiative in everything until now. Maybe it was cruel of him but that way he could make sure that he wasn’t pushing them into anything. 

“I’m not kissing Jun if you are looking on like a pervert,” Nino mumbled after a while of silence and looked from one to the other. He knew that Jun and Ohno made silently sure that it was okay for them to take this step, but he was already embarrassed about it all. If Ohno stayed in this room any longer, he probably would die. 

Ohno smiled and kissed the side of Nino’s mouth softly. “I’ll stop,” he promised and cupped his face for a second to press a kiss to his forehead. He didn’t want to make it harder on them and decided to take pity on Nino especially. 

Jun sat patiently beside them until Ohno left them alone again. 

Jun looked at Nino who was looking at his fingers for a second before looking up. 

“I haven’t thought about how embarrassing this all is,” Jun said after a moment of just staring at each other. They talked so much about it now that it somehow felt strange.

Nino chuckled but tugged him close to his side. “It’s Ohno’s special talent,” Nino whispered. 

Jun smiled a bit. It seemed like it.

Nino licked his suddenly very dry lips and drawing Jun’s eyes back on them without realising. Jun cleared his throat softly; now they looked even more kissable. 

For a second he forgot everything around them and came closer to the other. Nino looked up in surprise, but Jun didn’t fully realise as his eyes were still on those lips. He wanted that kiss now. He wanted to know how it felt to kiss them. He had dreamt about them a lot. Not only kissing but doing other things as well. Things that he was still too shy to talk about to either of them even if his dreams starred Ohno and Nino very often. 

“May I?” he asked again, only this time in a low whisper to the person that mattered most right now. 

“Yes.” Nino’s answer came in a hoarse whisper and Jun could feel the warm breath on his face and the movement almost on his lips as he came even closer to fit his lips right above Nino’s. 

Nino relaxed against him and took hold of his face at the first contact of their lips. After the first seconds, Nino took the lead of their kiss making Jun lean more against him with a smile. 

Nino caressed his neck with warm fingers as he deepened the kiss feeling excited and warm deep inside of him at the trust Jun was giving him right now as he let Nino do whatever he thought was right. 

After the kiss ended, Jun was slightly out of breath, and Nino put their foreheads together for a moment until their hearts calmed down. 

“Are you okay?” Nino asked. 

“Uhn, just a bit dazed,” Jun answered and pressed his lips against Nino’s again for a second before distancing himself. 

Nino looked over Jun for a moment and caressed his red cheek with his thumb. It was so easy for him to love Jun just the way he loved Ohno. Maybe he should feel strange to feel like that for two men, but it felt just right. 

“Let’s call Oh-chan ne?”

“Let’s,” Jun agreed and leant back against him as they both let Ohno knew he could come back inside and thanked him for his understanding. 

Nino tugged Ohno down beside him and put a peck on the side of his mouth with a happy hum when Ohno hugged both of them. 

Jun watched him for a short moment before darting forward and pressing his lips against Ohno’s cheek as well. Age be damned he would force Ohno to tell him how he felt honestly. He wouldn’t let them go. Neither Nino nor Ohno.


	20. Chapter 20

They stayed another hour with Nino at home until the boy almost threw Jun and Ohno out of his house. He needed to practice for his entrance exams, and he didn’t want the other two to be there. 

Jun sighed as he stood in front of the home with Ohno and observed the older boy thoughtfully. Ohno grinned and tilted his head. 

“What’s up?”

“Doesn’t it bother you?”

“What does?”

“That he still doesn’t want us to listen to him playing,” Jun mumbled with a small pout. He hadn’t known that Nino was considered a musical prodigy. Nino never told him that he used to play music almost professionally. It had been a shock when he had found out. Jun also still shuddered a bit at that. 

Nino had been cornered by a senior who seemed to have been some fan of him and his father. Jun hadn’t understood at that time. But he had been shocked. So shocked that he hadn’t been able to go in between Nino and the man who made his friend uncomfortable. It had taken a woman to shout at the man who had come closer and closer to Nino to pull Jun out of his stupor as he had grabbed Nino’s hand and ran away with the older boy. After that Nino had explained what all the fuss had been about. 

Jun had found a video of Nino then online playing the violin and had been enthralled. Nino hadn’t only been excellent at playing, but he had also looked adorable in a navy blue suit and slightly longer hair, bright eyes and a happy smile on his face. But when he asked Nino if he would play for him, Nino had denied it quickly with a troubled look. Luckily for him, Ohno had been there to stop Jun for asking more questions about it. 

Now Ohno sighed and put a hand through his hair before he shrugged. 

“I’m happy that he is practising again and of course I would like to listen to him. But I know that he is not happy with it yet. He wants to be perfect, and there had been a long break,” he said slowly. 

Jun huffed out a breath and took Ohno’s hand to leave finally. Ohno smiled softly and let Jun lead him wherever he wanted. It was still early after all. 

“Stupid,” Jun mumbled unhappily. He had always been interested in the abilities of his friends, and it was somehow really unsatisfying that Nino hid his from them. 

“I’m sure he will show us before he heads for his entrance exams,” Ohno said softly. He didn’t understand Nino’s reasons himself. After all, Nino had kept playing the guitar and the keyboard and even got himself a small drum set but apparently all that was different than playing the piano and not enough for the entrance exams. It was baffling as to how many instruments Nino could play now, Ohno thought. He couldn’t even play the recorder well, and they had to learn it in elementary. 

“I hope so,” Jun mumbled with a sigh. Jun looked at their connected hands with a small frown. He had never realised how little he and Ohno held hands. “Your hands are really large.”

Ohno chuckled and squeezed Jun’s fingers. “Mhm… Different from Nino?”

Jun nodded with a small groan. “Do you hate me?”

Ohno blinked at the sudden rush of words but when he understood what exactly it was that Jun was asking he stopped in the middle of the road. 

“What the hell are you talking about?” he demanded to know and pulled Jun with him when he realised that they were in the middle of the road and this was definitely not the place to talk. But what the hell?

He found a small coffee shop and almost dragged Jun inside. For once ignoring the bewildered looks on the face of a few passersby. Luckily for him, Jun followed quietly and sat down opposite of him. Ohno ordered tea for them both and settled down with a sigh. 

“Jun-kun, what are you talking about?” he asked a bit calmer. He didn’t want to scare the younger boy right now.

“Do you hate me?” Jun asked again, his voice not more than a whisper. “You… It had been you and Nino before me, and I know you don’t mind me tagging along. But…” Jun groaned and hid his face for a moment. His thoughts were in chaos. Logically he knew that Ohno didn’t hate him. He wasn’t sure if Ohno felt for him as he felt for Nino, though, or if he even could love him like that. For Ohno, he had to be a child, still. 

“I don’t hate you,” Ohno said and retook his hand in between his. He smiled and drew small circles on the back of his hand with his thumb to calm him down. 

“You see me as a small boy,” Jun said and realised with a horror that his voice was close to breaking. God, he really didn’t want to break into tears in front of Ohno. 

“Jun-kun…,” he began, but then he sighed and rubbed his forehead before looking up as a waitress brought their drinks. When they were alone again, Ohno shook his head and smiled a bit apologetically. 

“I don’t see you as a child. I can’t deny that it was like that when we first met. You were just so cute and small. But especially in these last few months, you have grown a lot. Nino had always said that you would grow into a handsome man and now it’s beginning to show. I think when you survived puberty, we might embarrass you,” he explained softly. 

“Still, you don’t hold my hand outside as often as you do with Nino. And I’m not allowed to kiss you other than on the cheek, and you won’t come too close,” Jun whispered a bit sadly. 

“You just turned sixteen, Jun-kun. I’m almost six years older than you.” Ohno let his thumb wander to the inside of Jun’s hand to move it around and look at the mark. “And I promised your parents to protect you and not go further than you might be comfortable. Also, it slowly changes but you still look younger than you are, Jun-kun. Me, I always looked older. What do you believe that people around us might think about us?”

“I don’t care about others,” Jun mumbled and bit his lower lip. 

Ohno chuckled, but then shrugged. “I know. But it’s more complicated. Behind closed doors I might be allowed to be close to you, even if I would like to talk with you and your parents first. But to the public, you are still considered a child, and I’m an adult.” 

Jun frowned and stared at the table in between them. “But you and Nino or me and Nino?”

“That’s different. For us, it’s only two years.”

Jun sighed but then tugged his hand back to take hold of Ohno’s wrist and pushed up the sleeve. “But they normally are more lenient to destined partners with a bigger age difference,” he said. 

“True. But I… We could never explain ourselves in a way that people would believe us. And they would sneer that you go behind the back of the one you are supposed to.”

“I hate that,” Jun said sadly. He never really cared. He didn’t understand why Nino didn’t like the fact that Ohno didn’t have a mark. But it would make things easier right now. 

Jun looked up to watch Ohno closely and felt a small pain in his heart as he saw the look of slight pain in Ohno’s eyes as he looked at his unmarked wrist as his words. Right now he hated even more that Ohno felt like he was not enough like that. 

“I hate your illness,” Jun said and blinked away the tears in his eyes that suddenly appeared. He liked to pretend that he had all but forgotten about it. But it was hard. 

“Me too,” Ohno said before shaking his head. “But we shouldn’t talk about that. It might never come back. Drink your tea before it gets completely cold. You don’t like cold tea,” he said. Ohno pulled his arm back and pushed his sleeve back down to hide his wrist from view. 

Jun frowned but nodded. “Will you go on a date with me? We could do that right? Take things slowly? I’ll even talk with my parents about it even if it is embarrassing,” he promised. 

“Of course. If that’s what you want.”

“I do.” Jun smiled brightly when Ohno nodded with a small glint in his eyes and hurried to finish his tea. He would spend the rest of the afternoon with Ohno, and he was looking forward to it.


	21. Chapter 21

“What’s up with you?” Nino asked as he watched Jun from his position on the bed. Jun was walking up and down in front of his closet pulling out shirt after shirt. He looked at it before frowning, shaking his head and throwing it on the growing heap of clothes. Nino didn’t know if he should feel sorry for Jun or laugh out loud. It was quite cute in a way but also nerve-wracking. 

“They are all boring or childish,” Jun groaned as he let himself fall beside Nino on the bed. He sighed and rolled to his side to look at Nino. 

Nino smiled as he poked Jun’s flat stomach. “I don’t know about that,” he said thoughtfully and played with the hem of Jun’s shirt. “But I know that Ohno doesn’t know more than me about it,” he added with a smile as he poked his cheek. 

“Should I be envious with how much you think about dressing up for your date with Ohno? You never put so many thoughts into any meetings with me,” he teased him. 

Jun frowned before pulling Nino down beside him and played with Nino’s hair. It was true somehow. “Sorry,” he said with a frown. 

Nino shrugged and relaxed under Jun’s fingers. Jun frowned as he realised how stiff Nino’s neck was and he sat up completely. “What were you doing?” Jun scolded slightly as he shoved at Nino until he rolled over. 

“Practising,” Nino answered with a shrug and closed his eyes when Jun started to massage his shoulders. He groaned happily as he felt his muscles relax. Nino kept his eyes shut for a while before opening them again when he felt more relaxed. He looked at the pile of clothes with a small smile. 

“Jun, I really don’t think you should worry too much. Wear what you feel like and where you’ll feel comfortable in. Ohno is an easy date,” Nino said and rolled around when Jun finished. He smiled at the anxious look on his face and pulled him down to hug him close. It felt natural to be with him like that. 

“But he thinks I’m a child,” Jun whined softly. “I don’t want him to think so.”

Nino giggled softly and stroke his hair. He hummed softly and looked at the ceiling for a second to think about it. 

“Jun, I don’t think he sees you as a child,” Nino whispers. 

“But he says so all the time.”

Nino chuckled and kissed his forehead. “I know. He says it a lot.” Nino chuckled when Jun hit him for that against the side. 

“Not helping,” Jun whined. 

Nino smirked and moved forward to kiss him on the lips. “He needs to remind himself. He did the same when I was younger. He can be awful on that regard. Now, show me the clothes again, and I’ll help you chose something,” he promised. 

Jun lightened up and sat up more straightly. “Promise?”

“Yup. So hurry off before I have to leave.”

“Mum and dad said you could stay for dinner, though.”

“Nice. I’ll call my grandpa then to tell him,” Nino promised and poked his side. “Now show me.”

Jun hopped off the bed and pulled out the last of his shirts from the closet to look them over. He frowned before throwing them down on the pile. “Are you sure you don’t want to go shopping with me?”

“Very sure. I hate shopping,” Nino agreed and rolled around on the bed until he was at the foot of it to be able to pick up the different shirts from the floor. He frowned at them for a while before pulling out a grey shirt and a white t-shirt with dark jeans to top it off. 

“Try those on,” he said with a grin as he put them on the bed Jun frowned slightly not sure of that choice, but he vanished from the room to change his clothes. 

Nino chuckled slightly when he was alone before getting off the bed to start organising Jun’s clothes again. He wanted to write Ohno to tell him to make sure to be helpful to Jun when they met the next day, but he was sure that Jun would only be mad at him for doing it. He shook his head as he sat down again just in time for Jun to come in. 

Nino whistled lowly at the look, beckoning him over. “Looking good there. Now just style your hair a bit…” Nino moved his fingers through the dark locks for a moment to show him. “There all set. Nobody will think you are a kid anymore. Okay?”

“You sure?”

“Yep, but you need to be a bit more confident as well. Looks can only do so much,” Nino scolded. 

Jun nibbled on his lips as he looked at the mirror in front of him. He just looked like always he thought with a bit of dismay. But maybe Nino was right. He was sure that the older wouldn’t lie to him about how he looked. He just hated being insecure. 

“You okay?”

“Yes, sorry. I’m just nervous.”

Nino giggled and kissed his cheek. “Being nervous is normal as well. But it’s also exciting. Don’t you think?”

“Yes,” Jun said with a brighter smile and turned around to kiss Nino on the lips. “Thank you. I should change back. We can play a game?”

“Sounds good. I still need to call my grandfather though. So go, and I’ll do that.” Jun nodded and vanished to the bathroom again. 

Nino rolled his eyes as he pulled out his cell phone to call his grandfather and talk about him about getting back late probably. When Jun came back, they settled down on the bed as Jun started a video game for them to play until his mother called them down for dinner. 

“Coming!” Jun yelled loudly. 

“Urgh, never yell like that beside me again,” Nino whined as he rubbed his ear. 

“Sorry,” Jun said sheepishly. 

Nino laughed softly and let Jun pull him up on his feet. “It’s okay.” When they were downstairs at the kitchen, Nino greeted Jun’s family politely with a small smile before settling down. Dinner was delicious hamburger steak which made Nino twice as happy. He was glad that Jun’s parents were open to him and seemed to like him having him over. It helped a lot feeling more confident about their relationship.

“Do you want to stay over?” Jun asked as they were almost finished with their dinner. Nino lifted an eyebrow at those words before smirking a bit. 

“You just want me to stay so that I can make sure you look good tomorrow,” he teased with a small laugh. 

Jun blushed but didn’t deny his words. Nino rolled his eyes before sighing a bit. He knew that his grandfather wouldn’t mind. In fact, he probably would prefer it to Nino being out late. It was silly, really. He was almost an adult, and still, everybody was worried that he might get mugged or something like that. 

“If you don’t mind?” he asked Jun’s parents. 

“No you’re welcome here,” his mother said with a smile. “But make sure to call your grandfather so that he won’t worry,” she reminded him.

“Of course, thank you then.” He poked Jun in the side when the younger grinned brightly. “Let’s go to your room?” Nino asked when they finished dinner. 

Jun nodded before bringing their dishes to the kitchen and taking two cans of soda for them before heading back to his room to finish the game and then watch a movie of Jun’s choice. 

Jun hugged Nino close as he felt Nino’s head land on his shoulder. He smiled as he stroke his hair softly. Jun kissed the top of his hair before burying his nose into the sweet-smelling strands and listened to the soft snores that left his lips. He pulled a blanket over him and lowered the volume of the movie so that it wouldn’t disturb Nino. He was surprised that Nino fell asleep so quickly, but Jun had the inkling that Nino was working hard for his entrance exams. 

“Sleep well,” he whispered against his hair and caressed his side softly until the end credits rolled. He shut off the movie before making sure that Nino was settled comfortably in the bed. He changed into his pyjamas and put a second pair on the chair in his room for Nino if the other woke up during the night. He climbed back on the bed with Nino. He smiled as Nino rolled over to search for his warmth. 

Jun sighed and closed his eyes. He was sure that he wouldn’t find much sleep as he was still nervous about his date tomorrow, but Nino’s closeness was warm and calming so that to his great surprise he fell asleep soon after getting comfortable with Nino almost on top of him.


	22. Chapter 22

“Grandpa?”

“What is wrong Kazunari?” his grandfather asked and looked up from the newspaper he was reading. He smiled as he watched his grandson who was playing with the hem of his shirt a little bit nervously. 

“I don’t know what to do,” he said with a sigh. He was allowed to try out for the university specialised in music just like he wished to. But to be accepted to it he had to play in front of a few professors for them to decide if he was still fit to study there. 

Nino knew that he wouldn’t have to do that if he had continued to play in front of people, but now everybody didn’t believe that he was still good enough. He had stopped playing the piano and violin for a long time after all. 

“To do in what aspect?”

“If I want to go to the university which I want to. I need to do a recital. It has been a long time since I played in front of others,” Nino said and sat on the sofa to draw his legs close and put his arms around them. He was nervous about playing in front of others. 

“But you had known that there you had to play in front of others when you applied for that university,” the old man said with a small frown. Nino nibbled his lips but nodded after a while. 

“I know. But… Jun asks me so often to play for him and Satoshi, and I never do. I practised a lot for this all. But now… I don’t know. Should I play for them privately? Won’t they be bored if I do?”

The old man laughed softly and put the paper down to look at his grandson. He observed him for a few moments before smiling warmly as he realised how nervous Nino actually was. 

“Kazu, I’m sure they’d be happy if you play for them. They won’t be bored, I promise. And it would do you some good to go through the song you want to play for the entrance exams in front of people who never listened to you before. You are comfortable around me, so it doesn’t matter if I listen to you practise. If you feel nervous around them, it would be a good first step before the big one.”

“You think so?”

“Yes, I do. Now go and call or write them and then prepare for the play.” The older man grinned teasingly when Nino grimaced, but after a moment the boy nodded and got up to write a mail to his boyfriends and vanish to the music room to sit at the piano to practise once again.

—

Ohno chuckled as he approached Jun who was swaying back on forth on his feet. Jun had called him the moment Nino had invited them to come over and listen to one of his songs. 

The younger boy was really excited about it all and Ohno thought it was adorable. They agreed to meet beforehand and have a small walk to the park to talk and be together. Ohno also hoped that it would help Jun to lose some of his excitement before they went to meet Nino. 

“Hello, Jun-kun,” Ohno greeted with a grin that changed to a chuckle when Jun came up to him to put his arms around his neck. 

“How are you?” Ohno asked.

“I’m good. Excited. Nino will play for us. I’m sure it will be beautiful. The songs on the CD were so good already, and I’m sure he looks terrific,” he gushed. 

Ohno laughed and ruffled his hair. “I’m sure he will be good. I’m glad you are so happy about it,” he offered with a sincere smile and held out his hand for Jun to take. “Let’s go for that walk?”

“Sounds good,” Jun agreed as he took the hand of Ohno feeling his heart beat a little bit faster when Ohno intertwined their fingers and held on tightly. 

A smile was on his lips at that gesture because he loved that Ohno was finally so open with him and they were able to get closer this way. 

“How was school?” Ohno asked and looked over the younger boy who shrugged a little bit. 

“Good and easy. There is nothing important going on right now. We’ll have a summer festival soon, though. So the preparations are starting slowly. Will you come to visit?”

“I should do so, ne? After all, I have you and Nino there, and it will be the last festival you both participate in together, right?”

“Yes, it’s so strange to think that Nino will leave school soon,” Jun said with a pout. He had gotten so used to eating lunch with at least one of his lovers. 

“It’s just for two more years, right?” 

Jun hummed with a small nod. He looked at the floor and frowned slightly. Just two years and then he had to decide if he wanted to continue his education and go to a university to study something - whatever that might be - or wanted to start working.

It was a scary thought, and he wondered how Ohno and Nino had decided what to do. He felt Ohno squeezing his fingers softly and looked up. 

“You still have enough time to decide what to do. So stop worrying over the future already. When the time comes, you’ll know.”

Jun looked up and wrinkled his nose. It was strange how Ohno knew what to say all the time even if he was sure that he was not reading his thoughts at the moment. 

Ohno chuckled and bopped his nose before tugging at his hand again to the direction of a small lake in the middle of the park. “The thoughts are all written over your face. It’s the same with Nino. It’s funny how open you are around me,” he explained. Jun chuckled slightly at those words and looked over the sparkling water as they slowly walked around the lake and then into the direction of Nino’s home. 

“It’s because you are you,” he said in the end with a small smile. Ohno was watching them all the time, but he was calm and warm and loving, and it was easy to let all their walls down close to him. 

“Have you calmed down? I think if you jump on Nino the moment, we arrive there he might hide away again, and we won’t be let in,” Ohno teased him slightly. 

Jun blushed before hitting Ohno slightly against his side. “You are awful. I’m just so excited. I like music, and he does it really well,” he said with a big pout. “But I will be calm, I promise,” he added sheepishly. He knew that they had overreacted. 

Secretly Jun hoped that Nino might decide to play on the big stage for their school festival. He knew that the teachers would be open for it if he asked them. Nino wasn’t the only famous person in their school. It was a private school after all, and some idols or boys belonged to agencies. Nobody in their school cared much about it, at least not openly. Jun knew that some boys or girls were whispering behind the backs of those people about shows or magazines they had been in. 

Ohno rang the bell to Nino’s house when they arrived and smiled at Nino’s grandfather. “Welcome,” the man said, and they greeted back before entering the house. 

“Nino is already in the music room. I think you can go through,” the old man said with a small laugh and handed over some drinks before ushering them through the floor to the right room. 

Ohno chuckled as he opened the door and music started playing as soon as they entered the room. He closed the door with an almost inaudible click and then led Jun who had stopped starstruck to one of the chair close-by. 

Ohno settled back as he tried not to laugh at the faces Jun made and concentrated again on Nino. A small smile graced his lips as he watched Nino. Nino was bowed low over the piano, and his eyes were closed mostly. He looked like he was enjoying himself immensely. 

He smiled when Nino opened his eyes near the end of the song and peered on the score for the first real time since he started the song.

He played the last tone longer than necessary before taking his hands back from the keys. Nino took a deep breath before looking at the others with a slight blush on his cheeks. 

Nino looked cuter than ever Ohno thought and stood finally when he saw Nino wringing his hands nervously. “That was absolutely beautiful,” he said as he stepped closer to take his hands in his own and kiss one finger after the other. His words and movements had broken the trance on Jun who jumped up while clapping and then coming over to sit beside Nino and hug him tightly. “So good. Can you play another one?” he asked excitedly. 

Nino blinked a little bit before he laughed softly and pressed kisses to both of their cheeks. He pulled Ohno on his other side on the small bench in front of the piano before taking one of Jun’s finger and pressed one key before taking Ohno’s hand and pressing down another key. 

“You liked it then?”

“Very much. It was very good,” Ohno agreed while Jun was nodding while giggling.

“Are you still nervous?” Jun asked softly. 

“Of course, I am. But it helped to play in front of you,” he explained softly. His fingers wandered over his keys without really pressing them down. To Ohno, it just looked as if he was caressing them. 

“Good,” Jun said and kissed his cheek again. He put his head on Nino’s shoulder to watch his delicate fingers running over the keys. “Please one more song?” he asked. 

Nino grinned bratty at that plea before putting his fingers down again and playing the “fled waltz” for a few times. When Jun elbowed him, he began to cackle almost madly before laughing out loud as he started to play “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” to which Ohno hummed the melody under his breath. When Nino started to play the “I Love You”-song by a kid’s show Ohno was chuckling but singing finally along as Nino had problems to play properly until the end.


End file.
